Trump Tours Mask Factory Without A Mask During First Big Trip In Months
President Donald Trump and other officials toured a Honeywell plant in Phoenix, Arizona with goggles as their only protective equipment. Mask-wearing has become a hot button political topic as some White House officials continue to buck the Trump administration's own guidelines to wear them. Meanwhile, ICE teams up with Amazon and others to curb the flood of counterfeit masks.
The New York Times:
Trump Gives Phoenix Mask Factory Visit A Campaign Feel
President Trump ventured beyond the Mid-Atlantic on Tuesday for the first time in more than two months, turning an official appearance at an Arizona factory producing respirator masks into an event with a campaign rally feel. In his latest show of support for returning to normal life even as the coronavirus continues to spread, Mr. Trump took a day trip to Phoenix to visit a Honeywell International plant that manufactures N95 masks and to hold a round table on Native American issues. (Crowley, 5/5)
The Hill:
Trump, Officials Don't Wear Masks On Trip To Mask-Making Facility
Trump and the other officials on the tour wore safety googles, but no masks during the visit. Throughout the factory there were multiple signs instructing employees to wear masks, with one reading: "Please wear your mask at all times." (Johnson, 5/5)
The Associated Press:
Trump Tours, Touts Mask Factory — But No Mask For Him
Trump had said he would don a face mask if the factory was “a mask environment,” but in the end he wore only safety goggles during a tour of the Honeywell facility. Nearly all factory workers and members of the press as well as some White House staff and Secret Service agents wore masks. Senior White House staff and Honeywell executives did not. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended that all Americans wear cloth masks when they can’t socially distance, such as in supermarkets, especially in places with high transmission rates. (Miller, Colvin and Superville, 5/6)
Reuters:
Trump Tours New Face-Mask Factory In Arizona But Does Not Wear One
Vice President Mike Pence said on Sunday he erred in not wearing a face mask to the Mayo Clinic last month. His decision not to wear the mask had drawn widespread criticism. The White House did not immediately respond to a query on why Trump did not wear a face mask at the Honeywell plant. Trump has sought to give an optimistic view about the country’s ability to recover from the virus and is eager for states to reopen businesses whose lockdown closings have crushed the economy and left millions unemployed. (Mason, 5/5)
The Hill:
Trump Touts Federal, Private Efforts To Combat Coronavirus In First Major Trip During Pandemic
President Trump on Tuesday declared the country in the “next stage of the battle” as he highlighted efforts by the federal government and private industries to combat the novel coronavirus. “To defeat the virus, we are harnessing the unrivaled power of American industry,” Trump said during an address at Honeywell International in Phoenix, a facility that has produced N95 masks, a critical piece of medical equipment used by front-line hospital workers treating patients with COVID-19. (Chalfant and Samuels, 5/5)
The Wall Street Journal:
Trump Travels To Arizona In First Foray From East Coast Since Coronavirus Lockdown
Like most Americans, Mr. Trump has been mostly stuck at home as the contagion has swept the country. During that time, opinion polls have shown him falling so far behind likely Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden that Republican allies complained he was jeopardizing the party’s chances to win key Senate races, including in Arizona, people familiar with the matter said. (Bender, 5/5)
PBS NewsHour:
After ‘Cutthroat’ Global Competition For PPE, U.S. Seeks To Make More At Home
On Tuesday, President Trump traveled to Arizona to visit a Honeywell factory where the crucial N95 face masks are manufactured. The administration is pushing to move production of medical equipment to the U.S., after the coronavirus pandemic sparked a global battle for critical resources -- many of which are made in China. Nick Schifrin reports on challenges of both production and politics. (Schifrin, 5/5)
The Wall Street Journal:
ICE Partners With Amazon, 3M To Identify Counterfeit Coronavirus Gear
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and companies including 3M Co., Amazon.com Inc. and Pfizer Inc. said they are working together to curtail the flood of counterfeit masks, coronavirus tests and other equipment entering the country. The agency’s center for intellectual-property protection said Tuesday that it was working with companies to identify suspicious shipments and take down suspect online listings for masks and other gear. The intellectual-property unit said the companies have agreed to share information and best practices with it to combat such trade. (Huford, 5/5)
ABC News:
Have Mixed Messages On Masks, A Critical Tool To Slow Pandemic, Slowed Widespread Adoption?
Public health experts agree that the continued wearing of masks and other face coverings in public will be a critical tool in slowing the spread of the novel coronavirus as many states begin to reopen their economies. But mixed messages from national and local leaders appears to have slowed their widespread adoption. (Rubin, Kim and Faulders, 5/6)
CNN:
Coronavirus, Face Masks And America's New Fault Line
Face masks, it seems, have become a new fault line in America. The decision to wear or avoid them in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic signals whether people have chosen to adhere to public-health guidelines -- a stress that's playing out on personal and political levels. (Tensley, 5/5)
