It’s been more than four months since the coronavirus pandemic hit the US and President Donald Trump is finally advocating that Americans wear face masks.
Trump’s handlers praised him profusely after he donned a face mask on July 11 while touring Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. On Monday, the president tweeted a photo of himself wearing a face mask.
The accompanying tweet was an odd mix of sensible medical advice (wear a mask) and xenophobic dog whistle (referring to the coronavirus as “the Invisible Chinese Virus”).
Oh, and he referred to himself as “your favorite President”:
“We are United in our effort to defeat the Invisible China Virus, and many people say that it is Patriotic to wear a face mask when you can’t socially distance. There is nobody more Patriotic than me, your favorite President!”
Not surprisingly, many Twitter users couldn’t mask their contempt for the president’s statement, which came months after it might have been helpful.