[NFA] President Donald Trump, who has avoided wearing a mask in public even as the coronavirus pandemic spread, donned one Saturday at a military medical facility outside Washington.
Fred Katayama reports.
President Donald Trump donned a mask for the first time in public Saturday.
He was visiting Walter Reed Military Medical Center.
It was a carefully staged photo op.
He sported a navy blue mask bearing the presidential seal.
He had previously refused to wear a mask and wouldn't ask other Americans to do so, saying it was a personal choice.
Critics had said his refusal to wear one showed a lack of leadership.
Just before his visit, he told reporters why he'll wear one Saturday: "I think when you are in a hospital, especially in that particular setting when you are talking to a lot of soldiers, people that in some cases just got off the operating table, I think it's a great thing to wear a mask." Trump made the move as new coronavirus cases keep hitting record highs.
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