Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY) said Tuesday in an interview on SiriusXM’s Breitbart News Daily with host Alex Marlow that if elected governor of the Empire State he would end mandates issued, ostensibly to reduce COVID-19 transmission, by New York state authorities.
“All COVID mandates need to end, day one,” Zeldin stated. “They should be gone already.”
Zeldin highighted mask mandates imposed on schoolchildren as examples of government-decreed “child abuse” that obstruct natural human communication and associated learning.
Pupils wearing face masks listen to their teacher during a summer project at a primary school on July 6, 2021. (INA FASSBENDER/AFP via Getty Images)
He said, “We still have toddlers wearing masks inside of New York City schools — kids learning how to speak, maybe they’re on the autism spectrum, and they can’t see the teacher’s face, the teacher can’t see their faces — it’s child abuse, in my opinion, and it’s certainly unscientific.”
“There’s still a COVID mandate in place for getting the vaccine,” he continued. “If you want to get the shot, get the shot. If you don’t want to get the shot, don’t get the shot, but you don’t do it because the governor called on you to be her apostle.”
Zeldin noted how New York City terminated municipal employees who did not comply with its COVID-19 vaccine mandate while extending exemptions for professional athletes and celebrities.
He said, “People who were treated as heroes at the start of the COVID pandemic ended up on the streets as zeros losing their livelihoods, and the state doesn’t recognize natural immunity. In New York City, where they have this vaccine mandate, there’s a special celebrity exemption. If you play for the Mets or the Yankees or are one of these other special celebrities, well, then you don’t have to get the shot. If you’re an FDNY [or] NYPD officer, if you’re a teacher [or] a healthcare worker, well, you’re out of luck. You’re out of a job.
“That needs to be gone as well,” he held. “We need to ensure that we never are viewing remote learning as an adequate substitute for full-time, in-person learning. I believe everybody who was fired should get their jobs back with back pay.”
He concluded, “What we should do with the COVID mandates: On day one — they’re all gone.”
Zeldin also committed, if elected, to removing Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. In January, Bragg declared that his office would not seek pre-trial detention or prison sentences for crimes other than homicide, public corruption, and some other exceptional cases.
“In New York state, the constitution gives the governor the authority to fire a district attorney who refuses to enforce the law,” Zeldin explained. “Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg fits that bill. On day one, he said that his intention across the board was not to enforce the law on a bunch of offenses, and a bunch of other offenses would be treated as lesser offenses.”
Zeldin stated, “The moment that I get sworn in — my first day in office — I am able to, and I will, turn to Alvin Bragg and tell him that he’s fired.”
Breitbart News Daily broadcasts live on SiriusXM Patriot 125 weekdays from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. Eastern.
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