Why won't Donald Trump wear a face mask in public?

Trump wore a mask - but only where reporters could not see him - TWITTER
Trump wore a mask - but only where reporters could not see him - TWITTER
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Coronavirus Article Bar with counter ..

Throughout the coronavirus crisis Donald Trump has been completely consistent in one regard -  he will not wear a mask in public.

According to aides there are several reasons, including that he thinks doing so makes him look "ridiculous" and doesn't want to give Democrats an opportunity to use the images in election adverts.

Mr Trump also believes that wearing a mask would "send the wrong message," and by not using one he signals that he is fighting to reopen the country.

It is a political statement that has resonated with many Americans who object to being told to wear masks themselves.

"There’s such a strong culture of individualism that, even if it’s going to help protect them, people don’t want the government telling them what to do,” Linsey Marr, an engineering professor at Virginia Tech with experience in airborne transmission of viruses, said recently.

The president also exists in a coronavirus-free bubble. Everyone coming into contact with him is tested and cleared beforehand. So there is, in fact, no need for him to wear a mask.

However, Democrats argue that he should still set an example.

Nancy Pelosi, the Democrat speaker of the House, has accused him of "vanity" and Andrew Cuomo, the Democrat governor of New York, called it “disrespectful".

On Thursday Mr Trump visited a Ford factory in Michigan which has been making ventilators and masks.

He brought with him his own White House-branded mask - black with a presidential seal - but wore it only when he was out of the view of photographers.

However, a photograph of him wearing the mask did find its way on to social media.

Ford’s Rawsonville Components Plant in Ypsilanti, Michigan has a policy of requiring people to wear masks.

But video showed Mr Trump on the factory floor, without a mask, talking to company executives who were wearing them.

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Asked why he was not wearing a mask Mr Trump said: "Not necessary. Everybody’s been tested and I’ve been tested.”

The president said he "had one on before" in an area that was not visible to the media. He added, “I didn’t want to give the press the pleasure of seeing it.”

In a later statement Ford said: ″Bill Ford [the executive chairman] encouraged President Trump to wear a mask when he arrived.

"He wore a mask during a private viewing of three Ford GTs [sports cars] from over the years. "The President later removed the mask for the remainder of the visit."