President Trump, after months of refusing to wear a coronavirus face mask in public, posted a photo on Twitter on Monday of himself wearing a face mask, declaring “There is no one more patriotic than me.”
“We are united in our effort to defeat China’s Invisible Virus, and many people say it is patriotic to wear a face mask when you cannot socially distance yourself,” Trump wrote. “There is no one more patriotic than me, your favorite president!”
The photo marked a significant change for Trump, who, until earlier this month, largely rejected wearing a mask, let alone issued a national mandate to fight the coronavirus.
The President was seen wearing a mask for the first time while visiting the Walter Reed Military Hospital on July 11.
Pressured by Fox News’ Chris Wallace during an interview on Sunday about whether he regretted not wearing a mask from the start and whether he would consider a national mandate, Trump said he wants people to be free to choose.
“I want people to have some freedom, and I don’t believe in that,” said Trump.
He also said he disagreed with the guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control that “if everyone wore a mask for 4-6 weeks, we could get this under control.”
TRUMP CORONAVIRUS BRIEFINGS ARE RETURNING AFTER A NEW CASE SURGERY
“I disagree with the statement that if everyone wears a mask, everything disappears,” Trump said. “Hey, Dr. Fauci said don’t wear a mask. Our general surgeon, an excellent guy, said not to wear a mask. ”
As of Monday, the United States has recorded more than 3.8 million cases of the new coronavirus with nearly 141,000 deaths, according to the latest figures from Johns Hopkins University.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Trump has always insisted that an increase in cases in recent months is attributable to the nation’s robust evidence system.
