Ohio’s GOP governor wishes Trump had ‘a more happy relationship with masks’

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (D) knocked President Trump’s frequent refusal to wear masks in public and his overall stance on the issue during an interview Thursday, saying he wished Trump had a more “happy” relationship with masks.

In an interview with NPR’s “All Things Considered,” DeWine singled out the president for criticism on the issue, noting that masks for months have been seen as an effective tool to curb the spread of the virus.

“I certainly wish the president had a more happy relationship with masks,” DeWine said. “We know so much more today than we knew in March. We now know that these masks really work.”

The White House did not immediately return a request for comment from The Hill on the governor’s remarks.

DeWine’s handling of the COVID-19 outbreak in Ohio has received rare praise from Democrats in his state, while a handful of Republicans moved in August to draft articles of impeachment against the governor.

The Republicans claimed that the governor’s policies aimed at stopping the virus’s spread had “proven to be far worse than the virus itself.” Just over 230,000 cases and 5,400 deaths have been recorded from COVID-19 in Ohio.

The governor made similar comments about Trump in early October following news of the president and first lady Melania Trump’s positive diagnoses for COVID-19, stating at the time that he hoped it served as a cautionary tale to mask skeptics.

“What I hope is what we’ve seen with the president is a cautionary tale,” DeWine said on CNN, adding, “This should be kind of an alert to everybody, that anybody can get the virus — even the president of the United States.”

“So people who maybe haven’t worn masks in the past, I’m hoping they’ll look at this and say, ‘the president can get it, I can get it.’ It can happen to anybody. I hope that’s what happens and that’s what comes out of it,” he added at the time.