Biden gives Americans an ultimatum: get vaccinated or wear masks for good

Thomas McDonald |

May 13, 2021

President Biden tweeted an ultimatum to Americans telling them to either get the COVID-19 vaccination or wear a mask until they do so.

“The rule is now simple: get vaccinated or wear a mask until you do. The choice is yours,” Biden said in a tweet after the CDC issued new mask-wearing guidelines for fully vaccinated individuals on Thursday.

“Anyone who is fully vaccinated can participate in indoor and outdoor activities, large or small, without wearing a mask or physical distancing,” CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said during a White House briefing, Thursday.

“If you are fully vaccinated, you can start doing the things that you had stopped doing because of the pandemic,” she added. “We have all longed for this moment when we can get back to some sense of normalcy.”

Walensky said the fact that daily cases are trending down and vaccines are proving to be highly effective at preventing the virus from spreading are the two main reasons for the new relaxed guidelines.

Reactions to Biden’s ultimatum to Americans didn’t go over too well on Twitter.

The rule is simple: the government has no authority to tell me how to live as a private citizen

& I’m not forced to disclose my health.

We can defeat this authoritarian gov’t by electing more leaders, like Ron DeSantis.
— #ThePersistence (@ScottPresler) May 13, 2021

Yeah. Well, that sounds like a pretty good deal.

But I think I may have a better one.

How about I give you the finger, and continue about my business unmasked and unvaccinated. pic.twitter.com/py3a3V4QXo
— Fullmetal Anarchist (@VulgarContend3r) May 13, 2021

Other users pointed out that Texas dropped their mask mandate back in March and saw no major spike in cases.

Mr. President,

Texas is fully open and the numbers have gone down since March 2nd, when Texas was opened. Please stop lying to the American people. pic.twitter.com/5RtSwG4aDh
— Getty (@ItzGetty) May 13, 2021

The Rule? Excuse me? I have the vaccine but there is no rule. It's a person individual choice. This is not a dictatorship that you are running. Check it at the door gramps. Not happening. Some folks can't get the vaccine because their Dr's say their immune system can't handle it
— Jet7111 (@jet7111) May 13, 2021

Biden also received backlash when he said back in March that Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s decision to open his state at 100 percent capacity was “Neanderthal thinking.”