Trump, in full reversal, urges Americans to wear
masks
US president long refused to don such protection
against coronavirus, and just weeks ago mocked Joe Biden for doing so.
By MATTHEW
CHOI 7/15/20, 2:14 AM CET Updated 7/15/20, 6:55 AM CET
U.S.
President Donald Trump on Tuesday urged Americans to wear masks to prevent the
spread of coronavirus, a full reversal of his initially dismissive attitude
toward face coverings.
During an
interview, CBS News' Catherine Herridge asked the president whether there
should be a federal mandate on wearing masks or if it should be left to
governors to decide. Trump responded that governors go by guidelines set by the
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and "that's
good."
When asked
whether he would urge Americans to wear masks, Trump replied: “If it‘s
necessary, I would urge them to wear a mask and I would say follow the
guidelines."
The CDC
recommends people wear masks in public settings, and the agency‘s director,
Robert Redfield, urged Trump to wear one, as well, to set an example for the
rest of the country. Redfield said the coronavirus outbreak could be brought
under control if all members of the public wore masks for four to eight weeks.
Trump‘s
circle is routinely tested for coronavirus, and visitors and staff to the White
House are often seen wearing masks. Redfield said that those factors could
allow Trump to justify not wearing a mask, but that the president should still
don one to encourage others to follow.
CDC
officials also wrote in an editorial on Tuesday that cloth face coverings were
vital to fighting coronavirus, and could be particularly effective when all
members of a community wore them. The editorial, published in the Journal of
the American Medical Association, said wearing masks could both protect wearers
and prevent those with coronavirus from spreading infected droplets.
“When asked
to wear face coverings, many people think in terms of personal protection,” the
authors wrote. “But face coverings are also widely and routinely used as source
control.”
Trump had
long refused to wear a mask, even mocking his Democratic presidential rival Joe
Biden for wearing one during a Memorial Day ceremony. When asked in April
whether he would wear a face covering, he responded: “Wearing a face mask as I
greet presidents, prime ministers, dictators, kings, queens — I just don‘t see
it.“
But as
support for wearing masks grew among his adversaries and supporters alike,
Trump finally changed his stance and wore a mask during a visit to Walter Reed
National Medical Center on Saturday. He had also been spotted wearing one
during a tour of a Ford plant in May, but while he was out of the public eye.
The
president had also said during an interview with Fox Business two weeks ago
that he was “all for masks. I think masks are good."
Authors:
Matthew Choi
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