--- title: "Trump: Wearing Mask Would “Send the Wrong Message”" description: "Trump has told his advisers that him wearing a mask would \"send the wrong message,\" NBC News reports, arguing it'd be focusing on health not the reopening." date: "2020-05-07" modified: "2020-05-07" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/trump-wearing-mask-would-send-the-wrong-message" categories: - "Developments" - "Health & Medicine" tags: - "cdc" - "coronavirus" - "covid19" - "donald trump" --- # Trump: Wearing Mask Would “Send the Wrong Message” ![Trump has told his advisers that him wearing a mask would "send the wrong message," NBC News reports, arguing it'd be focusing on health not the reopening.]() *\Image: Gage Skidmore/Victor Tangermann\* Trump reportedly told his advisers that him wearing a mask would "send the wrong message," [*NBC News* reports](). He told one administration and two campaign officials who remained anonymous that doing so would "make it seem like he is preoccupied with health instead of focused on reopening the nation’s economy," according to *NBC*. "It’s a vanity thing, I guess, with him," House speaker Nancy Pelosi [said on *MSNBC*](). "You’d think, as the president of the United States, you would have the confidence to honor the guidance he’s giving the country." Other leaders are also urging widespread mask wearing. "How people cannot wear masks — that to me is even disrespectful," New York governor Andrew Cuomo [said]() a few days ago. "You put so many people at risk because you did not want to wear a mask?" The news comes after the White House [reportedly buried]() a comprehensive guide for how American businesses might safely reopen penned by health experts at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The document included recommendations on how authorities could bring a semblance of normal life back to communities around the country. After initially deeming it unnecessary, the CDC reversed course and [recommended]() the American public wear cloth masks. The news also comes after Mike Pence [acknowledged he should've worn a face mask]() during a visit to the Mayo Clinic in New York last week — an action largely [decried]() by observers at the time. Trump has repeatedly incited citizens in various US states to rebel against lockdown measures on Twitter, writing that Michigan, Minnesota, and Virginia should be ["liberated."]() ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()