Cluck, cluck, cluck, puk puk pukaaak—that’s the sound a Ford makes, apparently.
On Tuesday, the auto manufacturer allowed Donald Trump to roam its Rawsonville Components Plant in Ypsilanti, Michigan without wearing a mask during the middle of the coronavirus pandemic. That’s despite Ford saying it had previously informed the White House that all visitors to the facility would be required to wear masks and the Michigan state attorney general’s insistence that it is required by law. The president, as well as Vice President Mike Pence, have made a big point out of not wearing the masks in what is either macho political posturing or a genuine belief that they are special and everyone else can go screw themselves.
In remarks to reporters during the visit, Trump claimed to have been wearing a mask in the “back area” of the plant, despite clear photographic evidence to the contrary and the fact that the president made those remarks, maskless, inside the plant. Trump further insisted that he had deliberately taken off the mask before talking with reporters as a funny little fuck you to trigger the libs, as he didn’t “want to give the press the pleasure of seeing it.”
As it turns out, even if Trump did wear a mask, he apparently removed it immediately after looking at some Ford GTs.
Trump told reporters he wore a mask in the “back area” of the Ford plant. Here’s a photo of him in the back area of the Ford plant without a mask. pic.twitter.com/aAR6Sxljgz
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 21, 2020
“Losing My Religion” is the current playlist track for Trump’s Ford visit pic.twitter.com/BgRzxktoMG
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) May 21, 2020
President Trump explains why he didn’t wear a mask at the Ford plant in Michigan, despite company policy. He also claims he did wear a mask – and shows it – when he was out of the sight of the press. pic.twitter.com/UNSIHYffWh
— Kelly Daschle (@kellydaschle) May 21, 2020
“[Executive chairman] Bill Ford encouraged President Trump to wear a mask when he arrived,” a Ford spokesperson told Gizmodo in a statement. “He wore a mask during a private viewing of three Ford GTs from over the years. The President later removed the mask for the remainder of the visit.”
When asked about whether the company’s policy prohibited the president from walking around the facility without a mask, Ford told reporters, “It’s up to him.”
lol pic.twitter.com/pCVcU8Fh6F
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) May 21, 2020
Not only has the president consistently refused to wear a mask in public, contravening public health guidelines issued by federal scientists, the White House has also experienced multiple cases of coronavirus—raising the question of how the U.S. is ready for reopening when it can’t even keep individuals with the virus from working in the same building as the president. Trump has also claimed to be taking hydroxychloroquine, an experimental and unproven coronavirus treatment, and on Tuesday he flubbed his way around a question as to what his latest test for the virus found. He’s also known for his completely undiscerning selection of medical advice and the extreme lengths he’s willing to go to hide the details of his personal health.
“I tested very positively,” Trump told reporters. “In another sense… I tested positively towards negative. I tested perfectly this morning. Meaning, I tested negative.”
President Trump explaining the results of his most recent coronavirus test: “I tested very positively…. in another sense…I tested positively towards negative…I tested perfectly this morning. Meaning, I tested negative.” pic.twitter.com/VE8rVT09ny
— Vladimir Duthiers (@vladduthiersCBS) May 21, 2020
At a press conference during the event, Trump also took the opportunity to launch into a free-form, totally incoherent thought exercise about fictional vote “harvesting” he believes results from allowing citizens to vote by mail.
Congratulations to @Ford for sponsoring this insane, completely delusional rant pic.twitter.com/dPyyPFEc8D
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) May 21, 2020
“We don’t want to have vote by mail,” Trump told reporters, before carving out an exemption for himself. “Now, if you’re president of the United States and you live in Florida and you’re not able to be there, you should be able to send in a ballot.”
He also remarked that Henry Ford, who cooperated with the Nazis and even received a medal from them, had “Good bloodlines, good bloodlines. You believe in that stuff? You got good blood.”