Trump wears mask publicly for first time during hospital

President Donald Trump wore a mask in public for the first time during a visit to Walter Reed Army Medical Center on Saturday, a dramatic shift from the president’s past refusal to don a face-covering publicly even as public health experts and the federal government recommend it to Americans.

Though public health experts and the Centers for Disease Control say that masks are necessary to stem the spread of the coronavirus, Trump has thus far declined to wear one personally in front of reporters.

Trump did wear a mask privately in May during a visit to a Ford motor plant in Michigan, but it wasn’t in front of the press and it was only captured in a photo from someone at the factory.

CNN reported that White House aides and advisers have been begging the president to wear a face-covering publicly for weeks in order to encourage those who are defiantly sceptical of mask-wearing.

In recent days, Trump has offered stronger support for masks, saying during an interview with Fox Business earlier this month that he’s “all for” masks and even likes the way he looks in them—but he had still not worn one for a photo-op before Saturday.

 Since Trump and those around him are frequently tested, his risk of actually transmitting the virus may be low, but critics say he should be setting a good example by wearing a mask anyway.

Key background

Masks have become a new culture war between those who see them as a sign of government overreach or a symbol of liberal overreaction to the pandemic and others who heed recommendations from public health experts.

Scores of viral videos have shown non-mask wearers arguing with essential workers over the issue or passionately opposing mandatory mask orders at local city council meetings. Even Republican governors, including those in Texas and Arizona, who had initially been skeptical of mask rules have backtracked amid a resurgence of the disease.

Though 86% of Americans say they are wearing a mask in public, according to a July 6 Gallup poll, much of the audience at Trump’s recent rallies in Tulsa and South Dakota didn’t wear one. The Tulsa rally in particular has created a public relations fiasco for the president, especially after the city’s health director said it was “more than likely” that the rally contributed to a spike in cases in the city.