President Trump took time on Saturday to visit wounded soldiers at Walter Reed National Military Hospital. But when he wore a mask to the hospital, the media went bonkers. Because you know the saying, “No good deed goes unpunished?” That’s the way the media reacted to the President wearing a mask.

Here’s the mask he wore.

Credit: Kurt Krieger/parler/screenshot.

Okay, I lied. Trump didn’t really wear a mask that said “EPSTEIN DIDN’T KILL HIMSELF.” But he did wear a navy blue number with the presidential seal on the side. The rest of his aides also wore masks.

Now in their coverage of the President’s visit, did the media focus on his interactions with the wounded warriors he visited? Did they interview any of these troops, to see what impact a personal visit by the President meant to them?

No, all the press cared about was that Trump finally wore a mask! Well, of course he did. There’s a pandemic going on, and Trump was visiting a hospital with people in compromised health, so yeah. Makes perfect sense, right? As he told reporters:

“I think when you’re in a hospital, especially in that particular setting where you’re talking to a lot of soldiers and people that in some cases just got off the operating tables.”

But for the media, it was all about the mask. And they spun this simple event in order to evoke criticism of the President.

For example, the New York Times reported that Trump had. . .

“. . .repeatedly dismissed suggestions that he wear a mask, frequently appearing in public spaces without one, mocking those who did and ignoring public health rules in several states.”

The NYT had previously claimed that because Trump hadn’t worn a mask in public before this, his supporters followed suit like lemmings. Never mind that the NYT offered no proof of such an assertion. The Grey Lady doesn’t understand that conservative reluctance to wear masks stems from a distrust of government impinging on liberty. It has little to do with whether or not the President wears one.

Moreover, CNN reported that the President’s decision to wear a mask came only after a “quiet lobbying campaign” by aides. According to CNN, these unnamed aides were “spooked” by seeing so many mask-free Trump supporters at a rally in Tulsa, OK. So they set about “pleading” with “lots of negotiation” to get him to wear a mask.

Once again, no aides or advisers were named in CNN’s reportage. But hey (read in your best James Earl Jones voice):  This. Is CNN.

Then CNN’s Jake Tapper cranked the silliness up to 11 with this tweet:

Some day someone will do a study on how many lives might have been saved if this happened in February or March https://t.co/Y5iL9XFPC6

— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) July 11, 2020

Is he kidding? Doesn’t Tapper remember when COVID High Priest Anthony Fauci told the public not to wear masks at the beginning of the pandemic? Or when Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams pleaded:

“Seriously people — STOP BUYING MASKS!”

Maybe Tapper forgot that time when Nancy Pelosi told everyone to come to Chinatown in February. Nothing to fear! Come on down, have a good time! Enjoy the Lunar New Year celebrations!

Some day someone will do a study on how many lives might have been saved if this didn't happened in February or March.#Pelosi Tours San Francisco’s #Chinatown To Quell #Coronavirus Fears. pic.twitter.com/QLcv4DZO1o

— occupycorruptDC (@occupycorruptDC) July 12, 2020

One Twitter user called Tapper’s assertion a “weird take.” He also correctly pointed out that. . .

“overwhelming majority of deaths from infections back then were in deep blue states where Trump’s example wouldn’t yield many behavioral changes.”

But you know the press. They have to find a way to blame Trump for All the Bad Things. Even when he does something right.

Not everyone criticized the President, however. Some Twitter users said that he was setting a good example, while others liked the mask itself and wondered if they could buy one (you can’t).

“That’s one cool mask. Will anyone talk about that?”

Even CA Rep. Ted Lieu, a Democrat, thanked Trump for wearing a mask. And when Lieu got pushback from Twitter users who seethed because he gave credit to Trump (how dare he!), Lieu replied:

“Because I’m trying to get people to wear masks. I also think that when someone does something right, even belatedly, there’s no reason to slam that person. We should try to encourage positive behavior.”

And, of course, someone compared the way Trump rocked a mask with how Joe Biden. . . didn’t.

Donald J. Trump looks like a badass in a mask.

Joe Biden on the other hand… pic.twitter.com/1tf4tsEQGQ

— Kyle Martinsen (@KyleMartinsen_) July 11, 2020

But as far the media go, it doesn’t matter how Trump looks in a mask. In fact, they’re probably alarmed that he appears strong and confident while wearing one while Joe Biden . . . well, you know how Biden looks wearing a mask — when he leaves his basement bunker, that is. It doesn’t matter, though. Because Trump can do the right thing, and yet in the eyes of the media he’s damned if he does and damned if he doesn’t.

Featured image: The White House/flickr/cropped/public domain.