President Donald Trump on Thursday proudly displayed a mask in Michigan that he said he wore for protection, but he refused to let the press see him wear it.
“I wore one in this back area but I didn’t want to give the press the pleasure of seeing it,” he told reporters.
Reporters on the trip to Michigan repeatedly asked the president why he decided not to wear a mask during the tour of a Ford Motor Company plant producing personal protection gear and ventilators. Other executives on the tour did wear masks.
“Honestly, I think I look better in a mask,” Trump said, claiming that he wore it earlier during the tour but chose not to wear it on camera.
Trump displayed his mask for the cameras, a black mask with a presidential seal on it as artist Tom Petty’s song “I Won’t Back Down” played in the background.
When a Ford executive was asked whether the president allowed to enter the factory without a mask, he replied, “It’s up to him.”
After the tour, Ford issued a statement.
“Bill Ford encouraged President Trump to wear a mask when he arrived. He wore a mask during a private viewing of three Ford GTs from over the years,” the statement read. “The President later removed the mask for the remainder of the visit.”
TMZ obtained a photo of the president wearing his mask during the private part of the tour.