Actor and rumored Texas gubernatorial candidate Matthew McConaughey said this week that he opposes COVID-19 vaccine mandates for children and that he will not vaccinate his own children yet.
“I couldn’t mandate having to vaccinate the younger kids,” McConaughey told the New York Times.” “I still want to find out more information.”
The Oscar-winning actor has described himself as “aggressively centrist” and admitted earlier this year that he is “measuring” a campaign for governor of Texas next year.
“Look, it’s going to be in some capacity,” he said when asked if he will enter politics. “I just — I’m more of a folksy and philosopher–poet–statesman than I am a, per se, definitive politician.”
The Dazed and Confused star has baffled—if not actively aggravated—both sides of the aisle with his refusal to fully articulate his positions on matters of key importance, such as election integrity.
What. An. Idiot.
(GREAT actor)— Kathy Griffin (@kathygriffin) October 10, 2021
Regarding the vaccines, McConaughey clarified that he believes they are safe for adults and that he and his wife both got the jab.
“I’m vaccinated. My wife’s vaccinated. I didn’t do it because someone told me I had to—[I] chose to do it,” he said.
“Do I think that there’s any kind of scam or conspiracy theory? Hell no,” he continued. “We all got to get off that narrative. There’s not a conspiracy theory on the vaccines.”
But his fervently pro-vax stance prompts the question of whether he’s truly anti-vax for kids, or just acting.
With Democrats craving a chance to flip the Lone Star state, some may wonder if McConaughey’s opposition is just spin to make him more palatable to a wider range of potential voters—a shield from some of his other more leftist leanings.
If so, he’s refusing to break character.
When it comes to children, McConaughey said he would rather stick to testing regularly than give them a shot that has known adverse side effects.
“There will come a time where you’re going to have to roll the dice one way or the other and go: ‘Where are the numbers in my favor?’” he explained.
That is sure to chafe left-wingers on the heels of FDA approval for those ages 5 and up, with some blue areas like San Francisco going so far as to mandate the vaccines for youngsters.
McConaughey’s breach with leftist dogma echoes that of NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who was savaged last week by mainstream media after contracting COVID, then admitting publicly that he was unvaccinated and favored a more pro-choice stance on the vaccines.
McConaughey, on the other hand, has been a vocal advocate for other coronavirus restrictions, including mask mandates.
“I’m not believing you’re really scared of this little cotton thing,” the purported libertarian said earlier this year.
“I’m not believing you really feel that takes away your identity and your freedom,” he continued. “This is a short-term inconvenience for long-term freedom.”
He even used the July Fourth as an opportunity to plug mask-wearing as a “patriotic” duty.
“We gotta look in the mirror and ask ourselves, ‘How can I be better? How can I expect more of myself and others? How can I be more responsible?” he said in a video celebrating the holiday.
“How can I have more compassion? How can I have more courage? How can I be more fair? How do I make sure I wear the damn mask?” he said.
McConaughey’s mixed messaging may not win him any friends on either side of the political aisle should he choose to run.
But if his polling continues to outperform incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott, even the most ardent leftists may turn a blind eye to his stray blasphemes in service of a greater cause.
Headline USA’s Mark Pellin and Ben Sellers contributed to this report.
