President Trump has made another overture urging supporters to don face coverings during the coronavirus pandemic.
The Trump campaign sent out an email to supporters on Monday encouraging the use of face masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The email, which was signed by the president, came the same day that a national poll found a staggering 82% of U.S. voters either “strongly” or “somewhat” support a national mask mandate, including two-thirds of Republicans.
“I know how difficult the past few months have been,” Trump said in the email to supporters. “I am writing to you now, not to ask for a contribution, but to ask for your help. We are all in this together, and while I know there has been some confusion surrounding the usage of face masks, I think it’s something we should all try to do when we are not able to be socially distanced from others.”
“I don’t love wearing them either. Masks may be good, they may be just okay, or they may be great,” he continued. “They can possibly help us get back to our American way of life that so many of us rightfully cherished before we were so terribly impacted by the China Virus.”
The president mentioned in the email his endorsement of masks in a July 20 tweet that included a black-and-white photo of himself wearing a black face mask with the presidential seal. In the tweet, he appealed to the patriotism of those who wear face coverings.
“I recently tweeted that many view wearing a mask as a patriotic act, and there is no one more patriotic than me and you. Why not give it a shot!” Trump said in the Monday email.
For the first few months of the health crisis, Trump refused to be seen in public wearing a face covering and was photographed publicly wearing a face mask for the first time in early July during a visit to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
The first Trump tweet in support of masks came after Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield said that Trump and Vice President Mike Pence should be wearing masks “to set the example” for others in the United States.
The U.S. has had about 4.7 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 and more than 155,000 deaths since the pandemic began.
NEW: Trump campaign emails supporters to wear masks… seemingly trying to appeal to mask skeptics, but also not fully endorsing them?:
“I don’t love wearing them either. Masks may be good, they may be just okay, or they may be great…My feeling is, we have nothing to lose…” pic.twitter.com/7tmzMY0nLt
— Will Steakin (@wsteaks) August 3, 2020
