masks were optional, and not worn by the majority of participants, nor was social distancing enforced. trump then appeared at a students for trump event in phoenix, arizona, on june 23, despite the state of arizona having recently become a major hotspot for new covid-19 cases. phoenix enacted a health ordinance requiring the wearing of masks in public; mayor kate gallego stated that the city would " be focused on enforcement during the rally." the owners of the megachurch where the event took place announced that it had installed an ionizing air purifier system that could "kill 99.9% of the virus". the media disputed the claimed efficacy. once again, the majority of attendees did not wear masks. on july 3, trump also made an appearance at an independence day fireworks event at mount rushmore in south dakota (a state that had been known for its laissez-faire approach to the pandemic with few public health orders), where masks were once again optional, and social distancing was explicitly left unenforced. by contrast, biden's campaign employed more "drive-in" rallies, and smaller-scale gatherings with social distancing and mask usage. brief change in stance during a coronavirus task force briefing on june 26 amidst major resurgences of cases in california and multiple southern states, most of the participants wore masks when not at the podium. however, pence did not wear a mask, nor did he mention the wearing of masks or social distancing when recapping the government's hygiene recommendations. on june 28 in an interview on this week, house speaker nancy pelosi argued that "the president should be an example. real men wear masks." on july 1 in an interview with fox business, trump stated he was "all for masks", but questioned the implementation of a national mandate since they would apply in "places in the country where people stay very long distance." trump stated he had "no problem" wearing a mask in public if he were "in a group of people where we're not 10 feet away — but usually i'm not in that position and everyone's tested." on july 5, white house chief of staff mark meadows stated that a national mandate was "not in order", since they are " on a location basis when you can't have social distancing". president trump wearing a face mask during a tour of the bioprocess innovation center in late july 2020 a trump campaign event in new hampshire originally scheduled on july 11, by contrast, was to be held outdoors, and the wearing of masks was now listed as "strongly encouraged" (although the event would later be postponed, with the white house citing tropical storm fay as justification). on july 11, trump publicly wore a mask for the first time when visiting members of the military at walter reed army medical center. prior to the event, trump told sean hannity that "it's fine to wear a mask out if it makes you feel comfortable", and later commented that hospitals were a location where one is generally expected to wear a mask under these conditions. on july 14, first lady melania posted a photo of herself wearing a mask on social media, urging her followers to follow cdc guidance since "the more precaution we take now can mean a healthier & safer country in the fall." in a cbs news interview the same day, trump stated that "if it's necessary, i would urge to wear a mask and i would say follow the guidelines." in an interview with fox news sunday that aired july 19, trump told chris wallace that he was a "believer" in masks, but that he did not intend to enact a federal mandate (leaving it to state governors) because "i want people to have a certain freedom". he also disagreed with cdc director redfield's suggestion that the use of masks nationwide could bring the u.s. epidemic under control within weeks, and accused federal health officials of having been inconsistent with their guidance on masks over the course of the pandemic. on july 20, trump posted a photo of himself in a mask on twitter, captioned "we are united in our effort to defeat the invisible china virus, and many people say that it is patriotic to wear a face mask when you can’t socially distance. there is nobody more patriotic than me, your favorite president!" the next day during a press briefing, trump again encouraged the wearing of masks by americans, stating "whether you like the mask or not, they have an impact." it was reported that trump's advisers had recommended this shift in order to re-gain public approval for his handling of the pandemic. continued downplaying by the trump administration during the 2020 republican national convention, speeches were held on the south lawn of the white house. a crowd of 1,500 invited guests were present for trump's acceptance speech on the final night, who did not wear masks or practice social distancing. when questioned by cnn about the crowd, an official argued that "everybody is going to catch this thing eventually." although washington d.c. health orders at the time prohibited gatherings of more than 50 people, this does not extend to federal property. at a campaign rally on september 3 in latrobe, pennsylvania, trump continued to mock biden for wearing masks during campaign appearances — suggesting that it gave him a "feeling of security", but that "if i were a psychiatrist, i'd say this guy has some big issues." he asked the audience, "did you ever see a man that likes a mask as much as him?' on september 21, 2020, william crews, a public affairs official at the national institute of allergy and infectious diseases (niaid), stepped down from his position after the daily beast published a report that identified him as a pseudonymous managing editor of the conservative website redstate. he had authored several posts promoting covid-19 disinformation and criticizing masks, which argued they were a "political statement", and referred to anthony fauci as a "mask nazi". white house outbreak and aftermath main article: white house covid-19 outbreak trump speaking at the white house rose garden on september 26, 2020, to announce amy coney barrett as a supreme court nominee. on september 26, 2020, trump held an outdoor ceremony at the white house rose garden to announce amy coney barrett as his nomination to fill a vacancy in the supreme court, left by ruth bader ginsburg following her death on september 18. it was observed that social distancing was not practiced, and a large number of the 150 participants (including several senior officials) did not wear masks. secretary of health and human services alex azar was an exception, but was then seen taking off his mask and physically interacting with others as he left. the hhs stated that azar and the people he interacted with had all tested negative prior to the event. two indoor receptions were also held. despite a spokesperson stating that all attendees in proximity to trump had been tested before the event, guests from barrett's alma mater notre dame (who were seated in the front row) reported that they were not, and stated that they were not told by the white house that tests were a prerequisite. furthermore, the white house stated that attendees did not need to wear masks if they had tested negative. on september 30, trump's senior counselor hope hicks (who had traveled with trump) tested positive for covid-19, but the case was not publicized until an interview with trump on fox news's hannity the next evening. during the interview, trump stated that he and melania had just been tested. several hours later, trump announced on twitter that he and melania had both tested positive. by october 2, at least seven attendees of the ceremony had tested positive, also including senators mike lee and thom tillis, former new jersey governor chris christie, former white house adviser kellyanne conway, university of notre dame president john i. jenkins (who had apologized after the event for his failure to wear a mask), and an unnamed journalist. this resulted in scrutiny of the ceremony as a superspreader event by the media and local officials, due to the lack of precautions generally taken by its participants. infectious disease physician robert l. murphy argued that if the ceremony was responsible for the white house outbreak, general use of masks and social distancing could have prevented it. presidential debates and town halls at the first presidential debate on september 29, first lady melania and other members of trump's family were seen taking off masks after seating themselves in the audience—violating health protocols specified by the cleveland clinic that had been agreed upon by both parties, calling for masks to be worn at the debate by all attendees (excluding the two candidates and the moderator when on-stage). during the debate, trump once again mocked biden for his use of face masks, stating "i don't wear a mask like him. every time you see him, he's got a mask. he could be speaking 200 feet away from them, and he shows up with the biggest mask i've ever seen." debate moderator chris wallace later stated that trump and his personnel were not tested prior to the debate in cleveland since they arrived late, and that they were admitted under "an honor system". in an october 2020 town hall held by nbc news, president trump incorrectly claimed a cdc study found that 85% of people who wore masks had still contracted covid-19. the data originated from a "morbidity and mortality weekly report" published by the cdc, which contained a survey on behaviors exhibited by covid patients and a control group of those who tested negative: while around 70% of both groups surveyed did say they always wore a mask, the covid-positive patients were more likely to have engaged in close contact and activities "where mask use and social distancing are difficult to maintain" within the 14 days prior to the onset of symptoms, such as visiting a bar or restaurant. misinformation related to this report has also been promoted by social network posts and fox news pundit tucker carlson. during a rally on october 29, trump made remarks to the crowd promoting mask use when social distancing is not possible; "if you get close, wear a mask. 'oh, it's controversial.' it's not controversial to me." transition to the biden administration a social media post by the biden administration, promoting executive orders on covid-19 protocols for federal properties. on january 20, 2021, in one of his first actions as president following his inauguration, joe biden signed executive order 13991, which compels the heads of executive departments and agencies to "immediately take action, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, to require compliance with cdc guidelines with respect to wearing masks, maintaining physical distance, and other public health measures" by visitors and employees of federal land and properties, and commands the secretary of health and human services to "engage" with political leaders and community members to " public compliance with, and addressing any obstacles to, mask-wearing and other public health best practices identified by cdc". the next day, biden signed another executive order, compelling the transportation security administration (tsa) and other federal agencies to require the wearing of face masks on all forms of public transportation, including planes, trains, buses, ships, and airports. on april 30, the tsa extended this order through september 13. issuance of guidance for vaccinated individuals on april 27, 2021, biden and the cdc announced amended guidance on masks, stating that those who are fully vaccinated (14 days after the second dose of a twin-dose vaccine, or 14 days after receiving a single-dose vaccine) did not need to wear a mask during small outdoor gatherings, but that they should still be worn at large outdoor gatherings (such as concerts and sporting events) where large numbers of unvaccinated people may be present, and that vaccinated people should still avoid large indoor gatherings. on may 11, rochelle walensky — the cdc's new director under the biden administration — appeared before the senate committee on health. amid questioning by republican senators such as maine's susan collins, walensky defended the cdc's current guidance on topics such as masks, stating that the public must "maintain public health measures we know will prevent the spread