Trump skips mask at Michigan plant despite warnings from Ford, state attorney general
Despite warnings from the Michigan Attorney General and Ford Motor Company, President Donald Trump didn’t wear a mask during his remarks at a factory visit on Thursday.
When asked by a reporter why he didn’t wear one, Trump answered: “Well I did wear — I had one on before. I wore one in this back area. But I didn’t want to give the press the pleasure of seeing it.”
Trump later explained that he and others in the White House had tested negative for the coronavirus earlier that morning, tests which are conducted daily, “so it’s not necessary.”
Ford Motor Company said on Tuesday that it told the White House that Trump and people with him would be required to wear masks for the visit, according to CNBC.
Michigan’s Attorney General Dana Nessel wrote in an open letter on Wednesday that Trump has a “legal responsibility” under the state’s law to wear a mask.
“I ask that while you are on tour you respect the great efforts of the men and women at Ford — and across this state — by wearing a facial covering,” Nessel wrote.
Nessel told CNN that if Trump “fails to wear a mask, he’s going to be asked not to return to any unclosed facilities inside our state.”
When asked if Trump is no longer welcome in Michigan after not wearing a mask at the plant, Nessel told CNN: “That’s right. That’s exactly right. Today’s events were extremely disappointing and yet totally predictable.”
“The president is like a petulant child who refuses to follow the rules,” Nessel continued. “This is not a joke.”
Trump visited a mask distribution center in Pennsylvania last week without wearing a mask, McClatchy News reported.
Trump toured Owens & Minor Inc. and spoke about the administration’s work in distributing personal protective equipment (PPE) during the pandemic, The Hill reported. Owens & Minor Inc. has sent millions of surgical gowns, N95 respirator masks, and gloves to hospitals, according to NBC.
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and supply chain leader Rear Adm. John Polowczyk both wore face masks to the Pennsylvania plant and employees who listened to Trump speak also wore face coverings, photos of the visit showed, according to The Hill.
On May 5, Trump traveled to a Honeywell mask plant in Arizona without wearing a mask, CNN reported.
“I had a mask on for a period of time,” Trump said at the time, according to CNN. “I had it on back — backstage. But they said you didn’t need it, so, I didn’t need it. And by the way, if you noticed, nobody else had it on that was in the group.”
Trump said he wouldn’t be wearing a mask, media outlets reported in April after the CDC issued its recommendations.
“I just don’t want to wear one myself,” Trump told reporters, according to Newsweek. “It’s a recommendation, they recommend it. I’m feeling good. Somehow, sitting in the Oval Office behind that beautiful resolute desk, the great resolute desk, I think wearing a face mask as I greet presidents, prime ministers, dictators, kings, queens, I don’t know. Somehow, I don’t see it for myself. I just don’t.”
Vice President Mike Pence didn’t wear a mask during a visit to the Mayo Clinic in April, Business Insider reported. He said he didn’t wear one because he had tested negative for the coronavirus and wanted to “look [the health care personnel] in the eye and say thank you,” according to Business Insider.
This story was originally published May 21, 2020 at 4:39 PM with the headline "Trump skips mask at Michigan plant despite warnings from Ford, state attorney general."