Trump is telling his advisers that he is refusing to wear a mask because he fears that it will make him look ridiculous on television.
Trump has told advisers that he believes wearing one would “send the wrong message,” according to one administration and two campaign officials not authorized to publicly discuss private conversations.
The president said doing so would make it seem like he is preoccupied with health instead of focused on reopening the nation’s economy — which his aides believe is the key to his reelection chances in November.
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Moreover, Trump, who is known to be especially cognizant of his appearance on television, has also told confidants that he fears he would look ridiculous in a mask and the image would appear in negative ads, according to one of the officials.
Trump refuses to wear a mask because he thinks it will make him seem preoccupied with the nation’s health, but he should be preoccupied with the nation’s health.
The problem is that Trump still hasn’t connected the national health to economic recovery. The economy can’t recover until people are healthy. The pandemic has to be under control before people feel comfortable going back to work, or shopping, or being out in public.
Trump has lived his entire by taking shortcuts and failing. Donald Trump is trying to shortcut his way through a pandemic because the shallow president would rather not look silly on TV as Americans die than set a good example and lead the country.
Trump has been looking ridiculous for forty years. He doesn’t know it, but that ship sailed decades ago.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
