Trump criticizes reporter in mask, despite his administration’s coronavirus guideline
President Donald Trump criticized a reporter wearing a mask during a White House news conference Tuesday, despite his own administration’s guidelines to wear face coverings to prevent spread of the coronavirus.
The reporter asked Trump about his comments regarding former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democrat nominee for president, and his wearing of a face mask during a public appearance on Memorial Day. After a second question, the president asked the reporter to remove his mask.
“Can you take it off because I can’t hear you,” Trump said.
“I’ll just speak louder, sir,” the reporter replied.
“Oh OK, because you want to be politically correct. Go ahead,” Trump said.
“No sir, I just want to wear the mask,” the reporter said.
The CDC and White House coronavirus guidelines for reopening the country instruct Americans to wear masks in public.
In a section titled “Guidelines for All Phases” on the White House government website, it says “continue to adhere to state and local guidance as well as complementary CDC guidance, particularly with respect to face coverings.”
Another section of the web page advises good hygiene, including to “strongly consider using face coverings while in public, and particularly when using mass transit.”
Before asking the reporter to remove his mask, Trump denied criticizing Biden’s use of a mask on Twitter.
“Biden can wear a mask, but he was standing outside with his wife, perfect conditions, perfect weather,” Trump said. “They’re inside, they don’t wear masks, so I thought it was very unusual that he had one on. But I thought that was fine. I wasn’t criticizing him at all. Why would I ever do a thing like that?”
Trump had retweeted this post by Fox News political commentator Brit Hume of Biden in a mask.
Earlier in the day, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany described Biden wearing a mask in public as “peculiar.”
“It is a bit peculiar, though, that in his basement right next to his wife, he’s not wearing a mask, but he’s wearing one outdoors when he’s socially distanced, so I think that there was a discrepancy there,” McEnany said.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a cloth face covering should be worn when people are in public, “especially in situations where you may be near people.”
During a CNN interview, Biden called Trump a “fool” when questioned about the president criticizing him.
“He’s a fool, an absolute fool to talk that way,” Biden said. “Every leading doc in the world is saying you should wear a mask when you’re in a crowd and especially when you know you’re going to be in a position where you’re going to inadvertently get closer than 12 feet to somebody.”
This story was originally published May 26, 2020 at 3:12 PM with the headline "Trump criticizes reporter in mask, despite his administration’s coronavirus guideline."