Coronavirus: Donald Trump says he finally wore a mask and ‘it looked very nice’
- US president ‘didn’t want to give press the pleasure of seeing’ that he covered face during visit to Ford factory
- Company says Trump was encouraged to wear mask, but removed it for later part of tour
US President Donald Trump said on Thursday he had finally overcome his aversion to wearing masks against the coronavirus – but he did not want be photographed.
Touring a Ford vehicle factory in Ypsilanti, Michigan, where workers have converted to building respirators and other medical equipment for fighting Covid-19, Trump held up a mask and declared he had covered his face earlier.
“I had one on before. I wore one in this back area but I didn’t want to give the press the pleasure of seeing it,” he told reporters and photographers covering his visit.
Nearly everyone at the Ford factory was wearing a face covering, in line with company policy and government recommendations on curtailing the highly contagious virus.
The manufacturer said in a statement that company 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.”