Trump, Aides Visit Arizona Mask Factory, Skip Masks

President donned goggles at Honeywell plant
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted May 5, 2020 7:12 PM CDT
Updated May 6, 2020 12:21 AM CDT
No Mask for Trump on Mask Factory Visit
President Trump participates in a tour of a Honeywell International plant that manufactures personal protective equipment, Tuesday, May 5, 2020, in Phoenix.   (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

After the controversy over Vice President Mike Pence's maskless visit to the Mayo Clinic, President Trump visited a plant in Arizona that makes N95 masks and wore some of the company's equipment on his face—goggles. The president and staff members including chief of staff Mark Meadows and press secretary Kayleigh McEnany did not wear masks on the visit to the Honeywell plant, although the tour included an area where a sign said masks were required, CBS reports. The president, in his first trip outside the Washington, DC area since late March, spent around three hours in Phoenix, reports the Arizona Republic. While at the Honeywell plant, he met with tribal officials and said his administration had improved the lives of Native Americans "more than any administration has ever done by far."

Earlier Tuesday, Trump told reporters at the White House he might wear a mask during the visit. "I think it's a mask facility, right? If it's a mask facility I will, yeah," he said. He said he wasn't worried about traveling with officials on Air Force One, since every passenger had been tested for the coronavirus "over the last hour," CNN reports. At the Honeywell plant, Trump called for reopening the country, though he admitted there would be a cost. "I’m not saying anything is perfect, and yes, will some people be affected? Yes," he said, per the AP. "Will some people be affected badly? Yes. But we have to get our country open and we have to get it open soon." (More President Trump stories.)

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