Michigan state attorney general, Dana Nessel, has described President Donald Trump as a “petulant child” for his refusal to wear a face mask during an official tour of a Michigan Ford car facility. Trump floated several recommendations from Ford company executives, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the US surgeon general, and the laws of Michigan that face masks must be worn to ward off the coronavirus infection.
Many people see the president’s refusal to wear a face mask at the care facility as a stance against Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer with whom he had clashed several times in recent weeks, and a demonstration of his superiority above everyone else. Given that everyone at the facility wore masks during the presidential tour, dissenters said what the president did is a reflection of his stubbornness and a tacit invitation for others to ignore masks in public places.
However, Trump told news reporters that he wore his face mask earlier but decided to put it away in his pocket because he didn’t want newsmen to see it. The face mask was adorned with the presidential seal.
“I had one on before,” Trump said. “I wore one in the back area. I didn’t want to give the press the pleasure of seeing it.”
Given that the company had earlier warned Trump and everyone to wear masks at the care facility – which is now recast for the production of ventilators and personal protective gear – Ford executive chairman Bill Ford said “it is up to him” when asked for his opinion on the president’s refusal to wear the mask.
Michigan attorney general Nessel wrote to the White House, stating that the president flouted the laws of the state of Michigan which established that face masks must be worn to stop the spread of COVID. She described the president’s action as “extremely disappointing” given that thousands of people in Michigan have died from the pandemic.
“The president is like a petulant child who refuses to follow the rules,” Nessel said. “This is not a joke.”
With 1.5 million confirmed COVID-19 cases in the United States and over 94,000 deaths, many people have derided Trump for mooting that churches and religious houses be opened for services. Trump at an earlier roundtable meeting with African-American leaders in Michigan called for states to reopen church services. Many people think it is not yet time to reopen churches even though businesses and public beaches have begun to reopen in gradual phases.
“We are opening our churches again,” Trump had said. “I think the CDC is going to put something out very soon, spoke to them today. I think they are going to put something out very soon. We got to open our churches.”
Source: theguardian.com