Former Bush Aide Slaps Down Trump for Refusing to Be Seen Wearing Mask at Ford PPE Plant: ‘Such a Slap in the Face to Medical Professionals’

Guests on MSNBC’s Deadline: White House slapped back at President Donald Trump’s surreal claim that he did wear a mask during a tour of a Ford PPE factory in Michigan, but that he then took the mask off so that the press would not see him with it on.

Joining host Nicolle Wallace, New York Times political reporter Nick Confessore and former Bush White House aide Elise Jordan both called out the president’s spiteful behavior and fear of being portrayed weak in public. After playing a clip of Trump’s absurd comments, Wallace slammed it as “the opposite understanding of the value of modeling good public health behavior.”

“It’s a very bad sign,” Confessore agreed. “This basic question of wearing a mask, a simple and painless thing we can all do to slow the risk of this pandemic spreading further, has become kind of wrapped up in a culture war.”

Wallace then turned to Jordan, noting that to intentionally avoid setting an example of wearing a mask in public to control the spread of the coronavirus is highly counterproductive to Trump’s professed goal of reopening the economy swiftly.

“It’s really just mind blowing and it’s such a slap in the face to medical professionals across this country that are working night at day at great risk trying to thwart the pandemic and save lives and Donald Trump won’t make a simple concession,” Jordan said, before referencing a Wednesday poll from Crain’s Detroit Business that found 80 percent of Michiganders disagree with Trump and personally choose to wear masks in public. “The only group not into it?” Jordan added, “older Republican men, so Donald Trump is really living up to his demo right now by his defiance of not wearing a mask. I just really wish that for the sake of the country and setting an example, Donald Trump could step up and lead. But good lord, we just know that’s not going to happen.”

Watch the video above, via MSNBC.