BALD-FACED

Trump Won't Wear Mask in Front of Media: Can't 'Give the Press the Pleasure'

The president insisted he “wore one in the back area” during his visit to a Ford factory, but he “didn’t want to give the press the pleasure of seeing it.”

Visiting a Ford plant manufacturing ventilators in Michigan on Thursday, President Donald Trump once again toured a facility without wearing a face mask—despite the car company saying it shared its policies with the White House requiring everyone to wear a mask “at all times.” 

Asked by reporters why he again refused to wear a mask, the president insisted he “wore one in the back area” but he “didn’t want to give the press the pleasure of seeing it.” Trump went on to say that it was “unnecessary” for him to wear it as he’d been tested. Company executives, reporters and other individuals, meanwhile, all had on masks.

Pressed whether wearing a mask would set a good example, Trump replied that he thinks “it sets an example both ways.” Handed a mask moments later, Trump held it up but didn’t place it on. “I like it very much,” he exclaimed. “Honestly, I think I look better in the mask!” Earlier in the day, the Michigan attorney general said she would consider suing companies that allow Trump inside their facilities without a mask, adding that the president will be “asked not to return to any enclosed facilities inside our state.”

Ford later released a statement backing Trump's claim that he briefly wore a mask, noting it was during a viewing of some classic cars: “[Executive Chairman] Bill Ford encouraged President Trump to wear a mask when he arrived. He wore a mask during a private viewing of three Ford GTs from over the years. The President later removed the mask for the remainder of the visit.” Later, images emerged of Trump briefly wearing the mask.

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Justin BaragonaSenior Media Reporter

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