Day 1,269: It took four months, 134K deaths and a trip to see wounded service members to get Trump to wear a mask

Lackeys celebrated his decision to the bare minimum as heroic.

Donald Trump has refused to wear a mask in public, despite the fact that leading by example would certainly convince others to do the same, slow the spread of COVID-19 and ultimately save American lives.

Trump’s reticence has been the result of vanity and machismo, going so far as taunting reporters that he didn’t want to grant them the pleasure of seeing him in a mask.

The CDC recommended on April 3 that all people wear a mask in public. For reference on the length of Trump’s stubbornness, Election Day is now a closer date than the CDC’s recommendation.

Yet it took until Saturday for Trump to wear a mask when he visited Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for about an hour. After more than 134,000 deaths. After ignoring CDC guidelines and White House experts’ recommendations for months. After Europe and Asia have largely returned to life as normal.

Clearly uncomfortable talking about wearing a mask, Trump lied about his personal feelings toward the coverings, while undercutting their importance.

Trump’s campaign team bizarrely celebrated Trump putting a piece of cloth over his face like he was George Washington crossing the Delaware River. (The coordination and messaging from his campaign team indicates that this was a particular strategy, with the military hospital the proper place where Trump could be shown voluntarily wearing a mask for the first time.)

It remains to be seen if right-wing “never-maskers” and will reverse course after Trump wore one for an hour.

1,269 days in, 193 to go

Follow us on Twitter at @TrumpTimer