Alyssa Farah Griffin, a former senior Trump administration official, said Thursday that she was among those who encouraged former President Trump to wear a mask during the worst of the coronavirus pandemic, telling him “masks are cool.”
Griffin, a host of “The View,” spoke with former White House coronavirus response chief Anthony Fauci on his show Thursday, recalling how both men tried to encourage Trump to wear a protective mask.
“I remember telling him he looked cool in a mask,” said Griffin, who served as White House strategic communications director in 2020, drawing laughter from the studio audience.
“Oh, I remember that!” Fauci said.
“I thought maybe he’d say, ‘OK, fine, I’ll wear it,’ but it didn’t work out,” Griffin said.
“Nice try, Alyssa,” Fauci said.
Trump has rarely worn a mask during the pandemic, with the former president publicly stating: Not following health advice Wearing a mask in April 2020.
Fauci also revealed his conflict with the former president over the previous administration’s response to COVID-19.
“It was very hard for me. I have a lot of respect for the presidency of the United States,” Fauci said. “I’ve served seven presidents, so it wasn’t like, ‘Wouldn’t it be great to go against the president?’ It was very hard, but I had to do it.”
Fauci said Trump’s refusal to wear a mask was a “missed opportunity” to promote safety measures among his political base.
“He has millions of loyal followers,” Fauci said. “All he had to do was say, CDC recommends wearing a mask, we know it saves lives, do it.”
