Melania Trump wore a face mask on Marine One Monday when she joined President Donald Trump for a trip to Baltimore in honor of Memorial Day.
The first lady didn’t wear the mask in public but cameras captured her wearing one when she sat in the helicopter. The cramped seating on Marine One and the number of people traveling on it makes social distancing virtually impossible.
Melania Trump has advocated for people to wear masks when social distancing is not an option, in accordance with CDC guidelines. She posted a photo of herself wearing one on her Twitter feed as part of that effort.
Melania Trump was spotted wearing a face mask while traveling on Marine One Monday
The first lady did not wear a face mask in public for Memorial Day events
Joe Biden and Jill Biden wear face masks on Memorial Day when they lay a wreath at the Delaware Memorial Bridge Veterans Memorial Park
First lady Melania Trump watches as President Donald Trump participates in wreath laying ceremonies at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery
Melania Trump carried a solemn expression as she attended Monday’s wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery
Trump and Melania Trump arrive to participate in a Memorial Day ceremony at Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine in Baltimore
Attendees – including first lady Melania Trump – stood six feet apart for social distancing during Monday’s ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
Melania Trump is escorted by a military aide during a Memorial Day ceremony at Fort McHenry
But she has not been seen in public wearing one, including her many public appearances on Monday: laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery; walking from the White House to Marine One; and attending an event at historic Ft. McHenry in Baltimore, where Francis Scott Key penned the words that became the Star Spangled Banner.
She could be glimpsed wearing a white mask – which coordinated with her white coat – through the window of the presidential helicopter as it took off from the South Lawn of the White House in route to Baltimore.
The first couple made back-to-back public appearances on Monday in honor of Memorial Day when the United States honors those who died in service to the country.
Melania Trump observed her husband lay a wreath of bore red, white, and blue flowers at Arlington National Cemetery. She then accompanied him to Ft. McHenry and stood by as a military fife and drum corps played and the president delivered remarks laced with patriotic expressions.
Neither President Donald Trump nor the first lady wore a mask for the holiday events, in contrast to Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, and Jill Biden, who donned facial coverings when they laid a wreath at a Delaware veterans park.
President Trump retweeted a post mocking Biden, his rival in the November election, for wearing a mask, sending a post from Fox News political analyst Brit Hume to his 80 million Twitter followers.
‘This might help explain why Trump doesn’t like to wear a mask in public. Biden today,’ the Tweet read, alongside a close-up shot of Biden sporting a dark face mask and sunglasses at a Memorial Day event.
Melania Trump is not the only person to wear a mask aboard Marine One and then take it off upon exiting.
Melania Trump has encouraged Americans to wear masks but hasn’t worn one in public
Donald Trump retweeted a post mocking Joe Biden for wearing a face mask at Memorial Day commemorations while the president refused to don one at a ceremony in Virginia
Melania Trump walks to Marine One after attending a Memorial Day ceremony at Fort McHenry
White House senior adviser Jared Kushner and White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany were spotted taking off face masks when they exited Marine One after the president’s trip to to a factory in Allenstown, Pennsylvania
White House senior adviser Jared Kushner and White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany were spotted taking off face masks when they exited Marine One earlier this month after accompanying the president on a visit to a factory in Allenstown, Pennsylvania.
The president’s signature helicopter, with its distinctive white top, is operated by Marine Helicopter Squadron One (HMX-1) ‘Nighthawks’ and can carrying 14 passengers. The seating is cramped with passengers squeezed in next to each other.
President Trump also has steadfastly refused to wear a mask in public. During a visit to a Ford Motor Plant in Detroit last week, where Michigan requires a face covering, Trump refused to wear one in front of the cameras, even as he showed off one – complete with the presidential seal.
The president told reporters traveling with him that he wore a face mask while in the back area of the factory but noted he didn’t want to give the media the ‘pleasure’ of seeing him wear one.
‘I wore one in this back area. I didn’t want to give the press the pleasure of seeing it,’ Trump said during his tour of the Rawsonville Components Plant.
But he was also captured wearing one in the back stage area of the factory in a photo posted to social media.
Trump’s reluctance to wear a face mask in public is believed to be part of his effort to push the country to reopen and resume business as usual. He’s said to believe wearing a face mask would send the wrong message.
Melania Trump and President Trump board Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House Monday en route to Fort McHenry in Baltimore
Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, wore masks when they laid a wreath of white flowers at the Delaware Memorial Bridge Veterans Memorial Park (left). President Trump and Melania Trump were maskless for their Memorial Day events
President Trump has not worn a mask in public but was captured with one while backstage during a tour of a Ford Motor plant in Detroit last week
President Trump showed off the mask to reporters during his visit to the Ford Rawsonville Components Plant
The first lady wore a face mask in a social media post to remind people of the importance of wearing them to help combat coronavirus
President Trump spent his Saturday and Sunday pushing that return to normal message by taking up his usual weekend pursuit: golfing. The president traveled to his Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia, to get in a round – his first time on the links since March 8.
The coronavirus, which as infected 1.7 million Americans and killed more than 99,000, has also touched the White House, where a military valet to the president tested positive as did Vice President Mike Pence’s press secretary.
In the aftermath, the White House tightened its protocols to protect the president from exposure. Staff and Secret Service agents are not spotted wearing masks when the cramped working conditions in the White House make social distancing impossible.
Melania Trump has taken a stronger approach to the coronavirus pandemic than her husband, ordering her staff to work from home from the early days and told the staff she oversees in the residence and East Wing to wear face masks.
She also has recorded several PSAs during the outbreak, where she has offered tips on getting through the pandemic and urged Americans to follow CDC guidelines on the matter.
As the country reopens, the first lady has warned Americans they need to continue to practice social distancing and wear masks.
‘As some states slowly start to open businesses, please be sure to check CDC guidelines, continue to practice social distancing & wear a face cover. We need to make sure we slowly get back to normal while still fighting to keep the virus suppressed,’ the first lady tweeted at the end of April.