Trump and aides fail to wear face masks on visit to facility that makes them
President has repeatedly claimed he won't wear face coverings despite federal guidance urging all Americans to do so
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Your support makes all the difference.Donald Trump and White House officials refused to wear face coverings while touring a Honeywell factory in Phoenix, Arizona, where workers are manufacturing N95 masks, despite warnings posted onsite to do so. Instead, the president wore goggles.
Before leaving the White House on Tuesday morning, he said: "I think it's a mask facility, right? If it's a mask facility, I will. Yeah. I don't know if it's a mask facility. ... We're going to see Honeywell. They have done an incredible job on many fronts. And so I'm going to pay my respects to a great company and a great state: the state of Arizona."
He added: "They make N95. And they do — and they make them good. They don't make the ones that don't work, like we got sent from certain other countries. No, no — like other people got sent from other countries."
Later, at Joint Base Andrews, he said: "I haven't decided because I don't know, if it's a mask environment, I would certainly do that. I'll know when I get there. But I would wear it. If it's a mask environment, I would have no problem. ... I'm supposed to make a speech. You'll tell me: Should I leave the mask on when I'm speaking? I don't know. It doesn't sound right. But if it's a mask environment, I would certainly wear a mask."
The president has been unwilling to wear a mask in public despite federal guidance urging all Americans do so to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
On 3 April, following new guidance from federal health officials urging all Americans to wear face coverings, the president — unprompted — said: "I don't think I'll be doing it."
He said: "It's only a recommendation ... I'm choosing not to do it."
The president then pictured himself behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office greeting kings, queens and "dictators" while wearing a mask: "I don't know. I don't see it for myself. ... Maybe I'll change my mind."
"I just don't want to wear one myself," he said. 'I'm feeling good."
(AFP via Getty Images)
That same day, First Lady Melania Trump said on Twitter: "As the weekend approaches I ask that everyone take social distancing & wearing a mask/face covering seriously. #COVID19 is a virus that can spread to anyone - we can stop this together."
Vice President Mike Pence was also criticised last week for failing to wear a mask while touring the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, despite requirements that all staff, patients and visitors wear them.
Two days later, he wore a mask while visiting a General Motors plant in Indiana that has shifted to ventilator production.
The vice president explained that he didn't wear a mask because he has been regularly tested for Covid-19 and could not transmit the virus to others.
A White House official claimed that Honeywell told officials were not required to wear masks during the tour but were told to follow precautions.
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