Trump is doubling down on his commitment to be a poor role model on mask-wearing

Laura Clawson

Daily Kos Staff

Thursday September 03, 2020 · 7:44 AM PDT

2020/09/03 · 07:44

US President Donald Trump, with US Attorney General William Barr (L), speaks to the press as he tours an area affected by civil unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin on September 1, 2020. - Trump visited Kenosha, the city at the center of a raging US debate over racism, despite pleas to stay away and claims he is dangerously fanning tensions as a reelection ploy. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN / AFP) (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

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A couple times over the summer, someone persuaded Donald Trump to look like a responsible leader for a few minutes by wearing a mask. But it never lasts, and lately, Trump has been fully unmasked at public event after public event. On Tuesday, it was Kenosha, Wisconsin. No mask. On Wednesday, Wilmington, North Carolina. No mask.

In fact, at an event during his Wisconsin visit, Trump told participants, “You might want to take the masks off. Otherwise, you can leave them on. Either way you want.” When everyone responded to the thinly veiled order by quickly taking off their masks, Trump exulted, “Look how fast you took that off.”

That wasn’t an isolated instance of Trump putting people in proximity to one another without masks: Exhibit A is the crowd at Trump's Republican convention speech, which was at least outdoors, but otherwise had the makings of a superspreader event, with chairs close together and people not wearing masks.

Now, Trump has found a new medical adviser, Scott Atlas, who rejects the science on masks. Atlas is notably not an epidemiologist or infectious disease expert, but he’s telling Trump what he wants to hear, and that’s the main qualification he needs for the role of White House coronavirus adviser.

Many Republican officials are now doing the right thing and wearing masks. But the Republican Party is Trump’s party, and Republicans remain less likely to wear masks, thanks to Trump turning public health into a partisan issue and mask-refusal into a sign of loyalty to him.

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