‘If you want to wear a dang mask, wear a mask.’ Parson defends his unmasked public events

Confronted with inconsistencies in his COVID-19 safety messaging, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson sent more mixed messages Tuesday. He defended his series of unmasked appearances over the weekend while stressing the importance of personal responsibility in preventing the spread of the virus.

Parson wears a mask when he’s asked to. Otherwise, he does his best to social distance, he said.

“Am I going to be perfect about it? No,” Parson said at his afternoon press briefing.

On Saturday, Parson dropped in on the 17th annual Missouri Cattle Association steak fry at the state fairgrounds in Sedalia. A video he posted to Twitter shows hundreds of unmasked people sitting shoulder-to-shoulder and applauding.

At the event, Parson was applauded for reiterating that he will not implement a statewide masking order, as Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly has.

“You don’t need government to tell you to wear a dang mask. If you want to wear a dang mask, wear a mask,” Parson said.

“The media will have a field day with that one.”

On Tuesday, Parson said doesn’t wear a mask when he feels like he can keep a safe distance from crowds. But he then acknowledged that he can’t always maintain six feet of distance.

“You can’t go to every event as the governor of the state of Missouri and people stay six foot away. You just can’t,” Parson said.

Missouri Demcoratic Party spokesperson Kevin Donohoe said Parson’s “do as I say, not as I do” mentality “just isn’t good enough.”

“The governor’s failure to follow his own advice and wear a mask isn’t just hypocritical — it’s an abdication of leadership,” Donohoe said in an email statement.

Parson said he’s developed techniques for avoiding direct contact with people.

“Kind of know which way their face is pointing, you know?” Parson said. “You learn things as you go out there, how to avoid those situations. And believe me, if something happens or if I feel like I get anything on me, we try to clean it up as soon as possible.”

He said he’s not sending mixed signals about safety and preventing the spread.

“No, I don’t think it’s confusing,” Parson said.

He said that as more young patients become infected, the average age of diagnosis in Missouri continues to drop.

“We need young people to take this virus seriously and understand the responsibility they have in the health of their families and communities,” Parson said.

“Social distancing is still the most important thing we can do, and if you can’t social distance, wear a mask.”

This story was originally published July 14, 2020 at 5:24 PM.