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Matthew McConaughey bemoans divisions over coronavirus response: 'We need all hands on the rope'
Published May 12, 2020
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Academy Award-winning actor Matthew McConaughey joined "Special Report with Bret Baier" Tuesday to discuss the politicization of the coronavirus pandemic and deliver a message of unity to Americans.
"I could feel that this united purpose we all have as Americans to beat this enemy and this virus, that purpose got hijacked by partisan politics," McConaughey said. "The narrative became, if you want to go to work, you're on the far right. If you don't go to work, you want to stay home, you're on the far left.
"And now even the mask wearing is getting politicized, where if you want to wear a mask, you wear a mask, you're a liberal. And if you don't, you're conservative. And that's just not true."
McConaughey said the politicization had divided America into fighting "two wars," one against each other and the other against the virus.
"But if we try to fight the one against the virus, which is the one we should be fighting," McConaughey said. "We're gonna beat it."
The actor's message of unity is behind a recently released PSA with co-producer Roy Spence, which tells Americans that the coronavirus is not a political issue.
"Part of it is saying just that, to remind us that this is not about politics. It's about us, the USA," McConaughey said. "We're gonna take care of each other. Right now we have a collective purpose.
"Look at who we are in World War II. And we have a crisis that came to us. We were united in that purpose. And all of a sudden the human factor started to get split and two tribes started fighting each other in partisan politics," McConaughey said. "And that is not what we need. We need a collection right now. This is a tug of war at the virus. We need all hands on the rope."
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McConaughey added that following social distancing guidelines and using masks were short term solutions to help "science catch up."
"I think they're Band-Aids to hold off until science catches up, until there's not two patients for every one bed like there was in New York, until we see that an asymptomatic person doesn't give it to someone who didn't have it," McConaughey said. "So we can protect the elderly, especially and the younger ones. This is unchartered waters. There's not a playbook."
https://www.foxnews.com/media/matthew-mcconaughey-coronavirus-divisions-politicization