The comments come as Trump continues to treat face masks as something to mock, refusing to wear one in public and joining his staff and family in ridiculing his Democratic rival Joe Biden for doing otherwise. White House staff members are required to wear masks in the building, though Trump is exempted from that rule.

The president retweeted a picture of a masked Biden taken Monday during a war memorial visit. The caption: “This might help explain why Trump doesn’t like to wear a mask in public.”

Donald Trump Jr., the president’s son and campaign surrogate, who traffics in zingers meant to anger liberals, posted a similar image on Instagram, calling the face mask “a muzzle so Joe can’t sniff anyone.” Dan Scavino Jr., the deputy chief of staff at the White House, shared doctored footage on Twitter on Monday that makes it appear as if Biden wore a face mask while eating…

Three recent public polls have found that between 64 and 72 percent of the public says Trump should wear a mask. Between 38 and 48 percent of Republicans say Trump should do so.