Michigan’s attorney general said President Trump is a “petulant child” who is no longer welcome in her state over his mask-wearing habits.
In a CNN interview Thursday, Dana Nessel noted that Mr. Trump did not wear a mask when in public view during a visit to a Ford plant in Ypsilanti earlier in the day.
CNN anchorman Wolf Blitzer asked her “Is the president no longer welcome in Michigan?”
“Well, I would say speaking on behalf of my department and my office, that’s exactly right,” Ms. Nessel said.
She went on to call the president childish for refusing to follow the rules she and other state officials have set up.
“Today’s events were extremely disappointing and yet totally predictable,” she said. “The president is like a petulant child who refuses to follow the rules. I have to say this is no joke.”
The president did wear a mask while touring the plant — deliberately out of view of TV cameras.
“I didn’t want to give the press the pleasure of seeing it,” the president told reporters after his tour.
He pulled out of his pocket a navy blue mask that appeared to have the presidential seal. He showed it to reporters without putting it on again.
Ford confirmed in a statement that the president did wear a mask during his tour on the plant floor, as per company policy.
“[Chairman] Bill Ford encouraged President Trump to wear a mask when he arrived,” the company said. “He wore a mask during a private viewing of three Ford GTs from over the years. The president later removed the mask for the remainder of the visit.”
Ms. Nessel, whose state has some of the most restrictive lockdown rules in the nation and which has become the epicenter of resistance to them, also threatened Ford for allowing Mr. Trump to not wear a mask inside.
“I think that we’re going to have to have a serious conversation with Ford in the event that they permitted the president to be in publicly enclosed places in violation of the order,” she said.
Ford “knew exactly what the order was and if they permitted anyone, even the president of the United States, to defy that order, I think it has serious health consequences, potentially their workers. This was a lengthy negotiation and discussion between the UAW, the big three auto manufacturers and our governor to ensure if people went back to work they would be safe,” Ms. Nessel said.
• Dave Boyer contributed to this report.
• Victor Morton can be reached at vmorton@washingtontimes.com.
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