Fox News contributor Charlie Hurt helped advance Fox’s anti-America, pro-death message by likening mask mandates – which save lives – to Taliban extremism and suggesting that anyone who supports mask mandates should move to Afghanistan (where they’d likely be killed).

Although face masks are now mandated in some instances at Fox News, Hurt whined as if a mandate is the kind of oppression akin to slavery. But first, he exhibited a huge case of projection as he accused politicians of having “politicize(d) every aspect of this pandemic from the very beginning.” Then he defended Gov. Greg Abbott’s pro-death banning of face masks in Texas. While he was at it, Hurt whined about the New York Times and USA Today incorrectly reporting that Abbott is banning masks when he has banned mask and vaccine mandates, which is almost as dangerous to public health.

Meanwhile, the Texas Supreme Court blocked Abbott’s restraining order against his mask mandate ban in Travis County (Austin) and the Texas Education Agency has said it will not enforce the mask mandate in schools.

The other guest, Laura Fink, was great. She called Republican governors' banning of mask mandates a move “for naked partisan advantage.” She went on to note that vast majorities of Democrats and independents support mask mandates in schools and that it’s only Republicans “that are the holdout.”

“Gov. Abbott is endangering children and causing school districts to close down,” Fink continued.

Perhaps unable to come up with a good argument against her, Hurt said, “If you like the idea of masks forced on children by the government, you should move to Afghanistan, live with the Taliban and see how you like that.”

Host Harris Faulkner made no challenge to that outrageous attack.

You can watch Murdoch-funded Hurt promote two different kinds of harm to Americans, from the COVID safe space at Fox News, below, from the August 20, 2021 The Faulkner Focus, via Media Matters. Also, kudos to Fink for putting up a feisty, on-offense challenge.