Melania Trump ditches mask at meeting with Girl Scouts after urging Americans to follow CDC guidelines
POTUS Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump were seen greeting a group of Girl Scouts at the White House on the afternoon of May 15 during a pandemic response event.
Neither of the Trumps was seen wearing protective face masks. During the event that took place in Rose Garden, the Trumps met Girl Scouts, nurses, and also small business owners. Donald Trump was seen giving out certificates to the Girl Scouts and also posed with them. Melania Trump had taken to her Twitter handle to say, "This afternoon, President of the United States and I hosted some of the heroes of Covid-19 at the White House."
"We listened to incredible stories of unity and patriotism from a nurse, small business owners, police officers, and girl scouts. I am truly inspired by the spirit of American citizens!" the tweet read. The tweet also featured pictures of attendees maintaining social distancing and sitting away from one another.
The first lady had shared another tweet that read, "It was inspiring to hear the acts of kindness and compassion that Girls Scouts Troop 744 has been showing to front line workers during this unprecedented time."
"This is one of just many examples of the spirit we celebrate through #BeBest!" In the pictures, a Girl Scout is seen wearing a mask while the Trumps weren't.
Many social media users called out the couple on not wearing masks.
One such user shared, "87,000 dead and yet neither @realdonaldtrump or @FLOTUS were wearing a mask. Totally DISRESPECTFUL of Americans. Where is our tests?" A second user wrote, "Why do you tell people to wear a mask when you both don’t wear one? LEADERSHIP FAILURE. OH, WAIT I forgot that you both get tested every day while others can’t."
A third social media user commented, "with no mask on your face. really Melania? good example you are setting." A fourth user added, "And for you not to be wearing masks is to disrespect every person on the front line of this pandemic."
The news comes after Melania had taken to share a picture of herself on social media where she was seen wearing a face mask. She had also urged Americans to wear masks when they were out in public.
On April 4. she had taken to Twitter to share, "As the weekend approaches I ask that everyone take social distancing & wearing a mask/face covering seriously. #COVID19 is a virus that can spread to anyone - we can stop this together."
At the time, POTUS Donald Trump had told reporters during a briefing that he had no intention of following the "voluntary mask" measure that was put forth by the CDC. According to the Huffington Post, Trump said, "The CDC is recommending Americans wear a basic cloth or fabric mask. This is voluntary. I don't think I am going to be doing it... You can do it. You don't have to do it... It may be good... It's only a recommendation...Voluntary."
"From recent studies, we know that the transmission from individuals without symptoms is playing a more significant role in the spread of the virus than previously understood. I just don't want to do it myself. Sitting in the Oval Office... I somehow don't see it for myself," he said.