作为流行病恶化得惊人在美国的大部分地区，来自健康专家和地方官员的压力越来越大，要求美国人戴口罩或面罩，国会共和党人告诉总统唐纳德·特朗普他也应该这样做。
他经常观看的一位福克斯主持人周二表示，他应该“树立一个好榜样”
就在此时，副总统迈克·彭斯面对记者声称，总统已经明确表示支持戴口罩，甚至说他在公共场合戴过口罩——但他没有。
2020年6月26日，美国总统唐纳德·特朗普在华盛顿特区白宫东厅举行的美国劳动力政策咨询委员会会议上聆听。
随着特朗普总统加紧竞选连任冠状病毒田纳西州共和党参议员拉马尔·亚历山大(Lamar Alexander)没有竞选连任，他警告说，“这场关于支持特朗普反特朗普的政治辩论的赌注太高，无法继续下去。”
“不幸的是，这种简单的拯救生命的做法已经成为政治辩论的一部分，这场辩论是这样说的:如果你支持特朗普，就不要戴面具;“如果你反对特朗普，你就反对，”亚历山大说，他与安东尼·福奇博士和其他健康专家一起主持了参议院关于危机状况的听证会。
他指出，疾病控制和预防中心的研究显示，戴口罩可以显著减缓疾病的传播。
“这就是为什么我建议总统偶尔戴上面具，即使在大多数情况下，他没有必要这样做，”他补充道。“总统有很多崇拜者。他们会跟随他的领导。”
包括参议院多数党领袖米奇·麦康奈尔在内的国会共和党人越来越多地呼吁戴上面具，亚历山大也加入了其中。
阿拉斯加州参议员莉萨·穆尔科斯基说，她认为特朗普穿上它会有所帮助。
“我认为我们都应该戴口罩，我认为如果总统也戴口罩会有帮助，我认为这表明我们都有一定程度的个人责任，”穆尔科斯基说。
犹他州参议员米特·罗姆尼(Mitt Romney)也提出了类似的请求，他是唯一投票决定罢免特朗普的共和党参议员。
罗姆尼周二表示:“如果总统想表明他完全支持戴口罩的人，那将非常有帮助。”。
就连福克斯新闻的特朗普盟友也在传递这一信息。
参议院多数党领袖米奇·麦康奈尔于2020年6月30日在DC首都华盛顿的哈特参议院办公楼离开每周一次的参议院共和党政策午餐会。
《福克斯和老友记》的联合主持人史蒂夫·杜西在周二早上表示，特朗普使用这款游戏将会树立“一个好榜样”。
“他会是一个很好的榜样。我看不出总统在公共场合戴面具有什么不好，“保守派主持人说在一次采访中，共和党全国委员会主席罗纳·麦克丹尼尔。
“‘马加’现在应该代表‘面具又伟大了’让我给你一些营销建议，”他补充道。
福克斯电视台的主持人肖恩·哈尼蒂也被特朗普称为“最受欢迎的记者”之一，他也建议更多的美国人应该考虑穿上它们。
“我每周都去我的杂货店。猜猜看。他们戴着面具。谢天谢地，我的杂货店里没有人感染冠状病毒，“汉尼蒂说。“我认为它们有效。”
“我说——尤其是如果我戴上面具，它将开启棒球、音乐会、橄榄球——我宁愿戴上面具去观看比赛，保护爷爷、奶奶、妈妈和爸爸，并观看球赛。”
2020年6月25日，星期四，美国总统唐纳德·特朗普和肖恩·哈尼蒂在威斯康星州格林湾的格林湾奥斯汀斯特鲁伯国际机场参加福克斯新闻市政厅的录音
保守思想的突然转变反映了两者压倒性的公众舆论和科学研究面具能有效减缓病毒的传播，但这与特朗普总统的信息明显矛盾。
周一，白宫新闻秘书凯丽·麦克纳尼(Kayleigh McEnany)在被问及特朗普是否会在今年8月佛罗里达州杰克逊维尔的共和党全国代表大会上戴面具时表示，尽管特朗普建议其他人遵循州和地方官员的指导，但他还是“自己选择”戴面具，因为该市规定公众必须戴面具。
2020年6月29日，华盛顿，白宫新闻秘书凯丽·麦克纳尼在白宫新闻发布会上发言。
“我来这里之前和总统谈过了，”麦克纳尼说。“戴面具是他的选择。是否戴口罩是每个人的个人选择。他鼓励人们做出任何对他们的安全最有利的决定，但他确实对我说，他对面具没有问题，并按照你们当地司法部门的要求去做。”
福西和其他高级卫生官员在参议院听证会上对口罩大加赞赏。福西警告说，如果美国不能控制疫情，美国每天可能会发现10万个病例。
森建议说，这样做的一个方法是伯尼·桑德斯我……我……他说，联邦政府应该像韩国、法国和奥地利等国为本国公民所做的那样，免费或低价向所有美国家庭分发口罩，然后询问目击者是否支持。
“是的，当然，”福西说。“任何促进面具使用的东西，无论是免费发放面具，还是任何其他机制，我都完全赞成。”
2020年6月30日，在华盛顿举行的参议院健康、教育、劳工和养老金委员会听证会上，国家过敏和传染病研究所所长安东尼·福西(Anthony Fauci)戴着面罩倾听。
疾病预防控制中心主任罗伯特·雷德菲尔德博士补充道:“关键是我们都要负起个人责任来减缓COVID-19的传播，并接受面部遮盖物的普遍使用。”
听证会进行期间，特朗普11月份的推定政治对手、前副总统乔·拜登(Joe Biden)在周二的竞选演讲中称，总统对冠状病毒危机的回应是失败的，并以面具为例，说明他是如何在大流行问题上分裂国家的。
“我们不能继续一半戴着面具，一半拒绝科学，”拜登说。“戴上面具，保持距离，限制人群的大小。总统先生，这与你无关。这关系到美国公众的健康和福祉。”
当特朗普和拜登向美国人民展示他们相互冲突的领导风格时，金融机构也在权衡这个已经成为政治问题的问题。
民主党总统候选人、前副总统乔·拜登来到德尔威尔明顿的亚历克西斯·杜邦高中演讲。，2020年6月30日。
高盛(Goldman Sachs)首席经济学家简·哈兹尤斯(Jan Hatzius)表示，他的团队调查了口罩与COVID-19健康和经济结果之间的联系，发现国家口罩授权可以让美国免受巨大的经济冲击——这一点可能会引起特朗普的注意。
《经济学人》在给客户的一份报告中写道:“这些计算表明，面罩指令可能会取代锁定，否则锁定将从国内生产总值中减去近5%。”。
尽管美国疾病预防控制中心在4月3日首次向美国人推荐了面罩或遮盖物，但一些研究发现，如果早些时候强制使用面罩，本来是可以挽救生命的。
卫生计量与评估研究所(IHME白宫经常引用的一个模型预测，到10月1日，美国将有超过175，000人死于COVID-19。如果95%的人口戴着面具或在他人周围遮盖，这一数字将下降数万至146，000人。
冠状病毒特别工作组负责人彭斯在过去几天也敦促更多的美国人戴口罩，在周二的冠状病毒特别工作组简报会上多次重复说:“戴口罩。”
2020年6月30日，副总统彭斯在马里兰州罗克维尔的美国公共卫生服务委任团总部演讲时，摘下了他的面具。
当被美国广播公司的约翰·帕金森问到总统不愿意戴口罩时，彭斯回答道:“嗯，总统和我一样在公共场合戴了口罩。你也听到了关于戴口罩的强烈鼓励。”
副总统的证词还不清楚。
5月下旬，特朗普总统在参观底特律的一家福特工厂时表示，他“在后台穿着一件”，但没有公开，因为他“不想让媒体看到这件事。”
彭斯继续描绘政府在面具上传达的信息是清晰的，尽管特朗普自己并没有传达。
自周日访问热点州得克萨斯州并表示“戴口罩是个好主意”以来，副总统已经大大加强了他在口罩问题上的言辞
几个小时前，彭斯在达拉斯的一个大型教堂发表讲话，有2000多名教徒和100人的唱诗班——站得很近，唱歌时没有戴面具——尽管疾病预防控制中心已经警告了“超级传播者”的潜力。
2020年6月28日，在达拉斯举行的庆祝自由集会上，副总统迈克·彭斯在南部浸礼会第一浸礼会达拉斯大教堂发表讲话。
尽管越来越多的州和城市以公共健康和安全为由通过了口罩法令，但并不是所有的共和党人都赞同这项科学。
参议员兰德·保罗。他毕业于杜克大学医学院，在周二的冠状病毒听证会上说:“我们不应该假设一群专家知道什么对每个人最好。”
南达科他州的共和党州长克里斯蒂·诺姆周一晚上在拉什莫尔山特朗普的7月4日庆祝活动上告诉福克斯新闻，“我们不会在社交上疏远”。
诺姆补充说，虽然政府会为参加周五晚上活动的人提供口罩，但不会要求人们戴口罩。
Pressure mounts on Trump to 'set a good example' and wear mask
As thepandemic worsens alarminglyin large parts of the country, pressure from health experts and local officials is mounting for Americans to wear masks or face coverings, and congressional Republicans are telling PresidentDonald Trumphe should do the same.
A Fox host he routinely watches said Tuesday he should "set a good example."
It comes as Vice President Mike Pence, facing reporters, claimed the president has been clear in his support of masks, even saying he's worn one in public -- which he has not.
U.S. President Donald Trump listens during an American Workforce Policy Advisory Board meeting in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., June 26, 2020.
With President Trump ramping up his reelection campaign as thecoronavirusrages across the southern United States, GOP Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, who is not running for reelection, warned, "The stakes are too high for this political debate about pro-Trump anti-Trump mask to continue."
"Unfortunately, this simple life-saving practice has become part of the political debate that says this: if you're for Trump, you don't wear a mask; if you're against Trump, you do," Alexander said as he chaired a Senate hearing on the state of the crisis with Dr. Anthony Fauci and other health experts.
He pointed to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention research showing wearing a mask significantly slows the spread.
"That's why I've suggested that the president occasionally wear a mask, even though in most cases, it's not necessary for him to do so," he added. "The president has plenty of admirers. They would follow his lead."
Alexander joins a growing chorus of calls from congressional Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, to wear masks.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said she thought it would be helpful if Trump would wear one.
"I think that we all should be wearing masks, and I think it would help if the president were to do so as well I think that that says that we all have a level of personal responsibility," Murkowski said.
And a similar plea came from Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, the only Republican senator who voted to to remove Trump from office.
"If the president wants to make clear that he is fully supportive of people wearing masks, that would be very helpful," Romney said Tuesday.
Even Trump allies at Fox News are sending the message.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell departs the weekly Senate Republican policy luncheon in the Hart Senate Office Building on June 30, 2020 in Washington, DC.
"Fox and Friends" co-host Steve Doocy on Tuesday morning said it would set "a good example" for Trump to use one.
"He'd be a good role model. I don't see any downside to the president wearing a mask in public," the conservative-hostsaidduring an interview Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel.
"'MAGA' should now stand for 'Masks Are Great Again.' Let me give you some marketing advice right there," he added.
Fox host Sean Hannity, too, whom Trump has called one of "favorite journalists," also suggested Monday night more Americans should consider wearing them.
"I went to my grocery store every week. Guess what? They wore masks. Nobody at my grocery store, thank God, got coronavirus," Hannitysaid. "I think they work."
"And I said -- especially if I wear a mask and it opens up baseball, concerts, NFL football -- I'd rather wear the mask and go to the game to protect Grandpa, Grandma, Ma and Dad, and watch the ball game."
President Donald J. Trump participates in a taped Fox News Town Hall with Sean Hannity Thursday, June 25, 2020, at Green Bay-Austin Struble International Airport in Green Bay, Wis.
The abrupt shift in conservative thought reflects bothoverwhelming public opinionandscientific studiesthat masks are effective in slowing the spread of the virus -- but it stands in clear contradiction to President Trump's messaging.
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany on Monday, asked if Trump would wear one at the Republican National Convention in Jacksonville, Florida, in August since the city made them mandatory in public, said it's "his choice" to wear a mask even as he recommended others follow guidance of state and local officials.
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany speaks during a press briefing at the White House, June 29, 2020, in Washington.
"I talked to the president before coming out here," McEnany said. "It's his choice to wear a mask. It's the personal choice of any individual as to whether to wear a mask or not. He encourages people to make whatever decision is best for their safety, but he did say to me he has no problem with masks, and to do whatever your local jurisdiction requests of you."
Fauci and other top health officials at the Senate hearing sung the praises of masks as Fauci warned the U.S. could see 100,000 cases a day if the country doesn't get the spread under control.
One way to do that, suggested Sen.Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., would be for the federal government to distribute masks for free or at low cost to all American households as countries including South Korea, France and Austria have done for their citizens, he said, before asking the witnesses if they'd support it.
"Yes, of course," Fauci said. "Anything that furthers the use of mask, whether it's giving out free masks, any other mechanism, I am thoroughly in favor of."
Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, wears a face covering as he listens during a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing in Washington, June 30, 2020.
CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield added: "It is critical that we all take the personal responsibility to slow the transmission of COVID-19 and embrace the universal use of face coverings."
While the hearing was underway, former Vice President Joe Biden, Trump's presumptive political opponent in November, in a campaign speech Tuesday called the president's response the coronavirus crisis a failure and used masks as an example of how he's divided the country over the pandemic.
"We can't continue half wearing masks and half-rejecting science," Biden said. "Wear a mask, keep your distance, limit the size of crowds. Mr. President, this is not about you. It's about the health and well being of the American public."
While Trump and Biden present their conflicting leadership styles to the American people, financial institutions are also weighing in what's become a political issue.
Democratic presidential candidate, former Vice President Joe Biden arrives to speak at Alexis Dupont High School in Wilmington, Del., June 30, 2020.
Goldman Sachs chief economist, Jan Hatzius, said his team investigated the link between face masks and COVID-19 health and economic outcomes and found a national mask mandate could save the country from a huge economic hit -- a point that may grab Trump's attention.
"These calculations imply that a face mask mandate could potentially substitute for lockdowns that would otherwise subtract nearly 5% from GDP," the economist wrote in a note to clients.
Though the CDC first recommended face masks or covering for Americans on April 3, some studies have since found if masks had been mandated earlier lives could have been saved.
The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation's (IHME) model, often cited by the White House, predicts that more than 175,000 people in the U.S. will die from COVID-19 by Oct. 1. That number would drops by tens of thousands to 146,000 deaths if 95% of the population wore a mask or covering around others.
Pence, head of the coronavirus task force, has also urged more Americans to wear masks in the last few days, repeating several times at a coronavirus task force briefing Tuesday: "Wear a mask."
Vice President Pence removes his mask as he arrives at the podium to speak to the Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service at their headquarters in Rockville, Md., June 30, 2020.
Questioned by ABC's John Parkinson about the president's reluctance to wear one, Pence replied: "Well, the president's worn a mask in public, as have I. And you've heard a strong encouragement, about mask wearing."
The vice president's reference wasn't immediately clear.
During a visit in to a Ford plant in Detroit in late May, President Trump said he "wore one in the back area" but not openly because he "didn't want to give the press the pleasure of seeing it."
Pence went on to paint the administration as being clear in its message on masks, even as Trump has not conveyed it himself.
The vice president has stepped up his rhetoric around masks significantly since Sunday, when he visited the hotspot state of Texas and said, "Wearing a mask is just a good idea."
Hours earlier, Pence spoke at a mega-church in Dallas with over 2,000 congregants and a 100-person choir -- standing close and none wearing masks while singing -- though the CDC has warned of the "super spreader" potential.
Vice President Mike Pence speaks at the Southern Baptist megachurch First Baptist Dallas during a Celebrate Freedom Rally in Dallas, June 28, 2020.
Even as more states and cities adopt mask mandates citing public health and safety, not all Republicans are on board with the science.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who graduated from Duke University Medical School, said in the coronavirus hearing Tuesday: "We shouldn't presume that a group of experts somehow knows what's best for everyone."
Republican Gov. Kristi Noem of South Dakota told Fox News Monday night "we won't be social distancing" at Trump's Fourth of July celebration at Mount Rushmore.
Noem added that while the state would provide masks to those attending the Friday evening event, it would not require people to wear them.
