A MUDDLED BUT NOT MASKED VOICE

The advice from John Selden’s ‘Do as I say, not as I do’ could be rewritten for President Donald Trump as ‘Do as I say, not as I don’t’.

His musing that ‘I think wearing a face mask as I greet presidents, dictators, kings, queens, I don’t know, I don’t see it for myself’ is concerning for a number of reasons. He should be guided by medical experts not his personal preference.

As with most countries, America is substantially closed to non-citizens and most leaders are far too busy with the COVID-19 pandemic to personally travel anywhere. It’s unlikely that visiting the oval office will be on any one’s travel plans for a while.

It would also be hoped that he would decline to meet any dictators as they generally don’t treat their citizens well. If he is the most powerful person in the world, he doesn’t need to meet the bullies of the world.

Masks might muffle his voice although it already seems muddled so any change may make his messages more confusing than they are already if that is possible.

Dennis Fitzgerald,
Melbourne, Australia