WASHINGTON — President Trump on Wednesday declared “masks are good” despite months of resisting wearing one, and encouraged Americans to use them as US coronavirus cases surge.
However, the president stopped short of supporting a nationwide order to make them mandatory in public because there are “many places in the country where people stay very long distance.”
“I’m all for masks. I think masks are good,” Trump told Fox News Business, falling behind senior Republican leaders who this week began urging Americans to wear them as infections hit record highs and health experts predicted the pandemic would rage for months to come.
“If I were in a group of people and I was close, I would. I have. People have seen me wearing one, if I’m in a group of people where we’re not 10 feet away,” the president continued.
“Usually I’m not in that position and everyone’s tested because I’m the president and they get tested before they see me, [but] if I were in a tight situation with people, I would absolutely,” he said.
The president said people “should” wear masks if they “feel good about it” but said he didn’t think face coverings needed to be mandatory in public.
When asked if he would wear a mask in public to set an example for the American people, the president wouldn’t commit but would not rule it out, saying he’d tried one on and fancied how it made him look.
“I’d have no problem. Actually I had a mask on and I said I liked the way I looked. I thought it was OK,” Trump said.
“It was a dark black mask and I thought it looked OK. It looked like the Lone Ranger, but I have no problem with that,” he continued.
Republican leaders, Fox News anchors like Sean Hannity, and even Vice President Mike Pence this week publicly embraced masks after months of partisan divisions over the public health issue.
On Monday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) condemned the “stigma” surrounding masks after new cases hit record highs, driven by large spikes in states such as Utah, Arizona, Florida and California.
“We must have no stigma, none, about wearing masks when we leave our homes and come near other people,” McConnell tweeted.
“Wearing simple face coverings is not about protecting ourselves, it is about protecting everyone we encounter.”