Trump says Melania likes the idea of wearing face masks but swears he will never wear one as it's 'too awkward'
POTUS Donald Trump admitted on Sunday, April 5, that his wife Melania would wear a face mask while he remained reluctant to do so.
Trump has not been wearing a face mask despite the fact that the CDC urged all Americans to do so. Melania even took to Twitter to share a post from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention while Trump said that the recommendations are 'voluntary'.
"She feels that way," Trump said of his wife while speaking to the Daily Mail. "I would wear one. I just generally - would you like me to it wear one right now?" he asked. "That would be a little awkward I guess, but again, I would wear one if I thought it was important. She likes the idea of wearing it, she does," he shared.
"A lot of people do. Again it's a recommendation and I understand that recommendation and I'm okay with it," he added. Meanwhile, Melania has been active on social media and has been offering advice to help people deal with the deadly pandemic and encouraging social distancing.
On April 5, Melania had tweeted, "I ask that everyone take social distancing & wearing a mask/face covering seriously. #COVID19 is a virus that can spread to anyone." She had also filmed two public service announcements about battling the virus.
When Trump was asked whether his coronavirus task force should wear face masks during the briefings to set an example for the country, he responded saying, "Well, it was voluntary." "Certainly if they'd want to, I would encourage it. I would have absolutely no problem with that if they wanted," he said.
Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said that he had not worn a mask at the briefings as they only prevent infected people from transmitting the virus.
"Why am I not wearing face masks now? Okay, there are a couple reasons. One of them is that part of, in fact, the major reason to wear a face mask is to protect you from infecting you. I have my test yesterday. It was negative (sic)," he added. To this Trump said, "Very good answer."
The CDC had announced that it was highly recommended that Americans wear non-medical cloth masks but Trump insisted that this was not compulsory. "So it's voluntary, you don't have to be doing it. This is voluntary, I don't think I'm going to be doing it," POTUS said.
Just a few minutes later, Melania shared on Twitter that Americans should be taking mask-wearing seriously.
Trump also added that wearing a mask would make him look foolish while communicating with world leaders. "Somehow sitting in the Oval Office, sitting behind that beautiful Resolute Desk, the great Resolute Desk, I think wearing a face mask as I greet presidents, prime ministers, dictators, kings, queens, I don't know, I just don't see it for myself," he revealed.
There have been 337,620 confirmed cases across the US with 9,643 deaths so far, as per John Hopkins Medical Center.