Washington: US President Donald Trump wore a face mask in public for the first time Saturday, finallyiving in to intense pressure to set a public health example as the coronavirus rampages across America.
Trump wore a black mask featuring the presidential seal as he walked through the corridors of Walter Reed military hospital just outside Washington to meet with wounded veterans of the US Army.
“I’ve never been against masks but I do believe they have a time and a place,” Trump said as he left the White House.
Reports this week said White House offcials literally begged the president to yield and wear a mask in public and let himself be photographed — as coronavirus cases surge steeply in some states. This also comes at a time when Trump trails Biden ahead of the November elections.
Trump has vehemently defended his administration’s handling of the pandemic even though the US is the hardest-hit country in the world.
Check out the best tweets.
130k say it is a little late.
— Yeri (@Notonesecond) July 11, 2020
Pretty crazy that the president wearing a mask is big news.
— seatbythebeach® 🌊 (@seatbythebeach) July 11, 2020
How much orange paint did the mask wipe off?
— Tom Wolf (@twolf10) July 11, 2020
Better late than never.
— Zigmeister (@_Zigmeister_) July 12, 2020
The country has recently seen several days of more than 60,000 new cases, nearly 135,000 people have died and states have been left to figure out on their own how to reopen without a clear and coherent strategy from the White House.
PNN/Agencies