WATCH: Fox & Friends Weekend Somehow Politicizes Joe Biden’s ‘Not a Time for Politics’ Statement

In his first public appearance since President Donald Trump revealed that he had tested positive for the potentially deadly Covid-19 contagion, Joe Biden took the high road. After offering prayers for President Trump and the First Lady, he said that that this was “not a time for politics,” before sharing the media spotlight on the scientific need for everyone to wear masks as the best method to abate the spread of the coronavirus.

Some saw this as a statesman-like moment that transcended the bitterly divided political environment in which we currently find ourselves. The co-hosts of Fox & Friends, for the most part, we not impressed. Further, they painted it as a political attack.

The segment was introduced by Will Cain, who recently joined the show as a co-host, and focused on what he called “the importance of talking about facts and truth and context” when it comes to Trump’s current hospitalization. Cain then suggested that much of what is being said is “not based in fact, so many conversations about the rallies and the masks.” He then provided Biden’s comments as evidence of his assertion about the lesson it teaches us about masks, before introducing a clip of select quotes from the former vice president’s comments:

This is not a matter of politics. It’s a brazen reminder to all of us that we have to take this virus seriously.  It means wearing a mask in public and encouraging others to do so as well. It means having masking mandates nationwide. We can get this pandemic under control, but this cannot be a partisan moment. It must be an American moment. Whether you voted for me or against me, I will represent you. Those who receive over other as fellow Americans don’t just live in red states and blue states but live in and love the United States of America.

A more objective or apolitical person may see Biden’s comments as fairly anodyne or even graceful amid the national crisis of a hospitalized commander in chief just one month before a hotly contested election. Not the folks at Fox & Friends Weekend.

Cain came out of the clip reiterating the importance of “facts and context and truth,” before saying that “many are trying to play the blame game already. Point fingers at masks or rallies.” In other words, Cain introduced politics following a clip of Biden calling this “not a time for politics.”

It was then Pete Hegseth’s turn to ramp up the criticism from his home studio — where he was, ironically, in quarantine having just interviewed President Trump. Hegseth first noted how it is “overwhelmingly likely” that Trump will recover quickly before acknowledging that Biden said the current moment is not about politics.

“It’s good they pulled down the negative ads temporarily,” Hegseth said, before criticizing the Biden campaign by saying “that probably won’t last long.” Huh?

Hegseth then focused on Biden’s comment that Trump’s hospitalization is “a brazen reminder to all of us that we have to take this virus seriously.” Hegseth saw that comment as political, noting “the indication is that President Trump hasn’t.”

Another indication is the more than 200,000 Americans dead from the coronavirus, representing roughly 20% of all deaths in the world, with the US representing just 4% of the global population.

The segment continued with Hegseth predictably defending Trump’s handling of the pandemic and criticizing Biden wanting “mask mandates and lockdowns.”

Jedediah Bila jumped in to criticize Biden’s call for a national mask mandate saying, “I don’t know that that would be enforceable.” Biden had explained previously that a mask mandate is not within a federal purview, but that state governors and local municipalities should take the lead. “Every business I know is already requiring people to wear masks inside, so I don’t know if he is talking about.”

Hegseth noted that there are some places in the country that don’t require masks indoors, which appeared to be some sort of rejoinder to Bila, but not a particularly strong one, given studies showing that the more masks are used, the less the virus spreads.

Bila finally offered a bit of science-based reason to the maddening segment. “When it comes to masks we talk a lot about the science and a lot about the facts,” she noted. “That is what doctors tell people to do right?” She then explained that she is “told by doctors if you are going to be in close quarters with anyone, less than six feet away or a crowded space to put a mask on. That I think, there is some science there in terms of medical advice.”

It is true that the nation’s leading medical and public health experts are virtually all in agreement that mask-wearing is the single best measure to abate the spread of the virus and the quickest way to return to a reopened economy.

Need an example? In early July, daily infections in Arizona were through the roof. Governor Doug Ducey did not issue a statewide mask-wearing mandate, but instead encouraged local municipalities to do so, and shut down bars. In six weeks’ time, Arizona had the lowest infection rate in the nation. Go figure!

Watch above via Fox News.

This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.