A confused Joe Biden faces backlash by appealing ruling lifting mask mandate

Just when you think things couldn’t get worse for President Biden, his bid to overturn a judge’s ruling ending the mask mandate on mass transportation looms as politically disastrous.

If the Biden administration succeeds in reinstating the mask order lifted by a Trump-appointed Florida judge, expect a backlash and confusion on trains, planes and buses like the president has never seen before.

Those 33% approval ratings could sink even lower. Yes, it’s possible, but that’s what Biden is facing if the Centers for Disease Control and Justice Department succeeds in its appeal of federal Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle’s ruling.

The mask mandate on public transportation is now pretty much over — on the T, Amtrak, on airlines. Reinstating it would be like putting a genie back in a bottle. You can’t.

But Biden is still trying to reverse the federal judge’s order because she’s a Trump appointee. This whole thing smacks of partisan politics and has little to do with public safety — despite what the CDC says. Travelers can still protect themselves by wearing masks for as long as they want.

“CDC believes this is a lawful order, well within CDC’s legal authority to protect public health,” the CDC said in a statement.

Tell that to the millions of people who cheered as they dumped their masks when Mizelle made her surprise ruling.

Biden says he’s trying to reverse the court order as a “matter of principle” though it’s difficult to tell if he knew what he’s talking about.

The president was actually asked on Thursday about an extension of the controversial Title 42 border expulsion policy, but he got confused and he launched into an answer about masks.

“First of all, there’s going to be an appeal by the Justice Department,” he said. “Because as a matter of principle, we want to be able to be in a position where, if in fact it is strongly concluded by the scientists that we need Title 42, that we’d be able to do that. But there has been no decision on extending Title 42.”

Got that clear, people?

What Biden didn’t say is that the Justice Department’s appeal is more about preserving the CDC’s power than battling COVID-19.

The administration could have asked the appeals court to immediately stay Mizelle’s order and reinstate the mask mandate but it didn’t.

That means it could go days or maybe weeks with people shedding their masks — and getting used to it.

The move to appeal the court ruling also could backfire legally because if the administration fails, it could set a precedent for other courts.

But the biggest risk for the administration is political. How much further damage would it do Biden if his Justice Department wins? He’d be better off just losing.