Twitter critics were appalled Monday when the first thing President Donald Trump did when he returned to the White House from Walter Reed hospital was to take off his face mask and jam it, frowning, into his pocket.
Trump, who is still considered contagious, had gloated the previous day in a video tweet that he “gets it” now that he has COVID-19.
No, he doesn’t, a flood of critics shot back.
Many remarked that the president’s breathing appeared labored as he stood at the top of the White House steps before entering and that he was trying not to show it.
Others expressed fears about the risk of contagion Trump now poses to the household staff, his security detail, aides, officials, the press and members of the public he may decide to meet.
“Epidemiologists just want to vomit,” tweeted Dr. Eric Fiegl-Ding, a senior fellow of the Federation of American Scientists. “What White House staffer would still wanna go to work tomorrow?”
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden earlier urged Trump to “listen to the scientists,” adding: “Support masks.”
CNN’s White House correspondent Jim Acosta called Trump “coronavirus in chief.”
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