WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump said on Friday that the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention was urging all Americans to wear a mask when they leave their homes, but he immediately undercut the message by repeatedly calling the recommendation voluntary and promising that he would not wear one himself.
"You can do it. You don't have to do it. I am choosing not to do it. But some people may want to do it, and that's OK. It may be good. Probably will - they're making a recommendation. It's only a recommendation, it's voluntary." Mr Trump's announcement, followed by his quick dismissal, was a remarkable public display of the intense debate that has played out inside the West Wing over the past several days as a divided administration argued about whether to request such a drastic change in Americans' social behaviour.
"For anyone, particularly the president of the United States, to ignore recommendations from the CDC is not only irresponsible but selfish," Dr Choi said.