Trump did wear a mask at the Ford plant, and somebody took a picture
President Trump visited a Ford factory in Ypsilanti, Michigan, on Thursday and, despite a request from Ford's chairman and Michigan's attorney general, he declined to wear a face mask for most of his tour. But he did wear one for at least a few minutes. "I wore one in this back area, but I didn't want to give the press the pleasure of seeing it," Trump told reporters, showing off the mask he said he'd worn. "I think I look better in the mask," he added later. Well, now you can judge for yourself.
With smartphone cameras everywhere, it was bound to happen eventually.
It isn't entirely clear why Trump refuses to wear a mask in front of the cameras, but his aides and advisers have told reporters the president thinks he looks ridiculous in a mask and believes it contradicts his messaging about the safety of reopening stores and other public places. A study from Hong Kong released Sunday found that wearing masks can lower the rate of transmitting the coronavirus through its primary mechanism, airborne saliva, by as much as 75 percent.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Margaret Atwood’s memoir, intergenerational trauma and the fight to make spousal rape a crime: Welcome to November booksThe Week Recommends This month's new releases include ‘Book of Lives: A Memoir of Sorts’ by Margaret Atwood, ‘Cursed Daughters’ by Oyinkan Braithwaite and 'Without Consent' by Sarah Weinman
-
‘Tariffs are making daily life less affordable now’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Out of office: microretirement is trending in the workplaceThe explainer Long vacations are the new way to beat burnout
-
Trump DOJ sues to block California redistrictingSpeed Read California’s new congressional map was drawn by Democrats to flip Republican-held House seats
-
GOP retreats from shutdown deal payout provisionSpeed Read Senators are distancing themselves from a controversial provision in the new government funding package
-
Catholic bishops rebuke Trump on immigrationSpeed Read ‘We feel compelled’ to ‘raise our voices in defense of God-given human dignity,’ the bishops said
-
House releases Epstein emails referencing TrumpSpeed Read The emails suggest Trump knew more about Epstein’s sex trafficking of underage women than he has claimed
-
Newsom slams Trump’s climate denial at COP30speed read Trump, who has called climate change a ‘hoax,’ declined to send any officials to this week’s summit
-
UK, Colombia halt intel to US over boat attacksSpeed Read Both countries have suspended intelligence sharing with the US over the bombing of civilian boats suspected of drug smuggling
-
Trump pardons 2020 fake electors, other GOP alliesSpeed Read The president pardoned Rudy Giuliani and more who tried to overturn his 2020 election loss
-
Supreme Court to decide on mail-in ballot limitsSpeed Read The court will determine whether states can count mail-in ballots received after Election Day
