July 12, 2020

The Big Boy President Wore a Big Boy Mask And Now the Election Is Over, Aides Say

This is the sort of positive reinforcement people use on dogs.

President Donald Trump wears a mask as he walks down the hallway during his visit to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., Saturday, July 11, 2020. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

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“They said this day would never come”—Barack Obama once said that, referring to his historic victory in the 2008 Iowa caucuses. But I also said it—aloud to myself, when I saw this photo of President Donald Trump wearing a mask on a visit to Walter Reed Army Medical Center on Saturday:

For months, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state and local governing bodies have advised Americans to wear masks indoors and in situations where social distancing is impossible, in order to slow the spread of Coronavirus. But Trump has made a point of not wearing one (and of not social-distancing, for that matter). Unlike you, he gets tested regularly, as do those around him, but—like Gerald Ford getting his flu shot—it’s the symbolism that matters as much as anything.

One might think wearing a mask in front of photographers for the first time in July would be a source of tremendous embarrassment, like realizing 40 minutes into your commute that you are not wearing pants. CNN reported that Trump’s aides had spent months trying to convince him to wear a mask. But when the first images dropped, Trump’s campaign orbit was on-message: He looks totally badass. And also: the presidential election is now over.

 

This is like putting up a huge sign on the White House lawn that says “Days Without an Accident: 1.” Congrats to the Big Boy president! The president’s most loyal supporters are treating “the president following his government’s own guidelines on the plague” like proud parents of a toddler who just cursed for the first time. This is the sort of positive reinforcement people use on dogs. There might well be some truth to the idea that Trump wearing a mask four months into a pandemic that has killed nearly 140,000 Americans will effectively settle the election. But it might not be the outcome they want.

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DEFEND THE TRUTH. DEFEND JOURNALISM.

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things it doesn’t like—which is most things that are true.

We’ll say it loud and clear: At Mother Jones, no one gets to tell us what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please do your part and help us reach our $150,000 membership goal by May 31.

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