China Plus Published: 2020-07-21 09:58:34
US President Donald Trump, who for months refused to encourage mask wearing as a way to combat the coronavirus, on Monday tweeted a picture of himself with his face covered and touted his patriotism.
“Many people say that it is Patriotic to wear a face mask when you can’t socially distance,” Trump wrote.
“There is nobody more Patriotic than me, your favorite President!”
![In this file photo taken on July 11, 2020 US President Donald Trump wears a mask as he visits Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. US President Donald Trump, who for months refused to encourage mask wearing as a way to combat the coronavirus, on July 20, 2020 tweeted a picture of himself with his face covered and touted his patriotism. [File photo: AFP]](http://img0.zhytuku.meldingcloud.com/images/zhycms_chinaplus/20200721/8ef3222e-8739-4091-86ab-77510fc76e3c.jpg?x-oss-process=image/resize,w_650)
In this file photo taken on July 11, 2020 US President Donald Trump wears a mask as he visits Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. US President Donald Trump, who for months refused to encourage mask wearing as a way to combat the coronavirus, on July 20, 2020 tweeted a picture of himself with his face covered and touted his patriotism. [File photo: AFP]
The accompanying picture, in black and white, showed Trump wearing a dark mask with the presidential seal.
The stylish photo and exhortation for Americans to unite around masks was a far cry from Trump’s longtime mocking of masks as symbols of weakness during a pandemic that he has repeatedly suggested is overblown.
However, his tweet stopped well short of endorsing calls from some for a nationwide mandate to wear masks in public.
The nation’s top medical authorities — backed by several leading Republican figures — say that mask wearing is crucial to halting the disease.
Amid a fierce resurgence of the virus in southern and western states — including some that are Republican strongholds — Trump has come under new pressure to change his tune.
He only wore a mask in public for the first time on July 11.
By contrast, his Democratic challenger in the November presidential election, Joe Biden, has worn a mask in public for months.
(Story includes material sourced from AFP.)