Trump Will Wear Mask in Public Tomorrow for First Time After Reported ‘Pleading’ By Aides

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President Donald Trump will wear a mask in public for the first time during a visit at the Walter Reed National Medical Center on Saturday — which comes after repeated “pleading” from aides, CNN reported Friday.

“I’m going to Walter Reed to see some of our great soldiers who have been injured. Badly injured. And also see some of our Covid workers, people who have such a great job,” Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity in an interview Thursday night. “And I expect to be wearing a mask when I go into Walter Reed. You’re in a hospital so I think it’s a very appropriate thing.”

The only other time Trump has been pictured wearing a mask was during the private portion of a tour of Ford Motor Company’s plant, which now makes personal protective equipment. Trump took the mask off before talking to reporters because he didn’t want to “give the press the pleasure of seeing it.”

Trump is expected to be photographed in the mask as well. CNN reports its “a photo opportunity that some of the President’s aides practically begged him to agree to and hope will encourage skeptical Trump supporters to do the same.”

In the last two weeks, Trump has changed his rhetoric around masks, most notably in an interview with Fox Business.

“I don’t know if you need ‘mandatory’ because you have many places in the country where people stay very long distance,” Trump answered. “You talk about social distancing but I’m all for masks. I think masks are good. If I were in a group of people and I was close.”

Eighty-four percent of Americans say they wear a mask to prevent the spread of Covid-19, with 78 percent of Trump supporters declaring they have worn a mask during the pandemic. Still, Trump has denounced the idea of a nationwide mask mandate.

This post has been updated with further information.