Trump promotes attack on Biden for wearing a mask in public

Donald Trump on Monday retweeted criticism of Joe Biden for wearing a face mask in public, even though Trump’s own administration recommends the use of face masks to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

“This might help explain why Trump doesn’t like to wear a mask in public,” Fox News personality Brit Hume tweeted, alongside a photo of Biden wearing a mask to a Memorial Day wreath-laying ceremony.

Trump then promoted the criticism to his 80 million followers.

This might help explain why Trump doesn’t like to wear a mask in public. Biden today. pic.twitter.com/9l1gw1ljBE

— Brit Hume (@brithume) May 25, 2020

Biden wore the mask, along with his signature RayBan aviator sunglasses, for his first public appearance since governors began announcing coronavirus stay-at-home orders in mid-March.

In doing so, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee was following the guidance of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which says to wear masks when you are unable to properly social distance from others.

Trump, however, has repeatedly declined to follow that guidance.

Trump did not wear a mask during a wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery on Monday. Nor did first lady Melania Trump, who herself has urged the public to wear masks.

Trump also refused to wear a mask during a tour of a Ford factory in Michigan on May 21. Trump, however, said he wore the mask on a private part of the visit.

“I wore one in this back area, but I didn’t want to give the press the pleasure of seeing it,” Trump said at the time.

During a visit to a mask-making plant in Arizona on May 5, Trump again went mask-free — even though the plant required masks to be worn. Trump reportedly did not wear a mask in public because he feared a mask would make him “look ridiculous.”

Refusing to wear masks has become a rallying cry for protesters demanding governors reopen state economies in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic — which has killed nearly 100,000 Americans in just two-and-a-half months.

But members of Trump’s own administration — including the surgeon general — are urging the public to don the protective face wear to stop the spread of the virus as states begin to lift some stay-at-home orders.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.