Former homeland security adviser Tom Bossert responded on ABC News' "This Week" to President Trump's refusal to wear a face mask in public, saying, "Do as I say, not as I do isn't very useful" for reinforcing what the president's own public health officials have stressed.
Driving the news: Trump on Thursday said he removed his face mask during a tour of a Ford plant in Michigan because he "didn’t want to give the press the pleasure" of seeing him with one on. The Michigan attorney general warned Trump that it was “the law of this state" to wear a mask while touring plants.
The CDC has advised individuals to wear face masks while in public in order to prevent the asymptomatic spread of the virus.
Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus task force coordinator, also stressed on "This Week" that if Americans celebrating Memorial Day weekend outside cannot properly distance, they "must wear a mask."
What he's saying: "Instead of focusing on what you can't do this weekend, a couple of things you should do: Wear a mask — it's common decency," Bossert said. "Pray and think about those that passed in our former wars ... and also those who've passed in the last three months."
"And then make sure you remember to wash your hands and remain socially distant, even though the shelter-in-place rules have been lifted," he added.
