Trump won't wear a mask in public because he's afraid he might look ridiculous and it will harm his reelection chances, report says

President Donald Trump, who has never worn a mask in public, was criticized for not covering his face during a factory tour on Tuesday.

According to a new Associated Press report, he is afraid that he would look ridiculous in it and that his opponents would use footage of him in attack ads and hurt his reelection chances.

Trump has reportedly also said that wearing a face mask would "send the wrong message" that he is more focused on health than reopening the economy, sources told the AP.

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President Donald Trump is worried that wearing a face mask in public could ruin his chance of being reelected, The Associated Press reported on Thursday.

The president has never been seen wearing a mask in public, and on Tuesday he was criticized for failing to wear one during a tour of a Honeywell plant in Arizona — going against guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and a rule requiring workers at the factory to wear them.

Trump has also said that wearing a face mask would "send the wrong message" that he is more focused on health than reopening the economy, which aides think is key to his winning in November, one administration source and two campaign officials told the AP.

One of the officials added that Trump was afraid that he might look ridiculous wearing a face mask and that the image could be used against him in attack ads.

This isn't the first time Trump has publicly gone against coronavirus-related safety guidelines.

In early March, the president said he would continue to shake people's hands, despite health officials' warnings, because "you can't be a politician and not shake hands."

The White House did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment on the AP report.