North Carolina Republican urges Trump to wear a face mask at state campaign event: ‘He just needs to do it’

President Donald Trump continues to mock former Vice President Joe Biden for wearing protective face masks in public, and during a press conference on Labor Day, he tried to bully Reuters reporter Jeff Mason into removing his face mask — which Mason refused to do. Trump has usually avoided wearing face masks, but Republican Dave Plyler — who chairs the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners in North Carolina — is urging the president to wear one when he visits that area for a campaign event on Tuesday, September 8.

The Winston-Salem Journal quotes Plyler as saying that wearing face masks has been “ordered by the governor” — adding, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do. When in North Carolina, do as the governor says.”

Plyler also said, “He is a citizen of the United States, but he is also a guest in our county. Without a mask, he could get sick, and he could blame the governor.”

North Carolina is a swing state with a Democratic governor, Roy Cooper, and some polls released in early September showed Biden to be leading among North Carolina voters —although not by much. Biden’s narrow leads in North Carolina included 2% (Monmouth University), 4% (Fox News) or 2% (Morning Consult), but an East Carolina University poll found Trump ahead in that state by 2%.

North Carolina is also where, in some polls, Democratic challenger Cal Cunningham has been ahead of incumbent Republican Sen. Thom Tillis in the state’s 2020 U.S. Senate race. Recent polls have found Cunningham ahead by 1% (Monmouth University) or 6% (Fox News), but an East Carolina University poll found Tillis and Cunningham tied at 44%.

Plyer has been firm in stressing that Trump needs to wear a mask when visiting his area, saying, “There is no excuse. He just needs to do it.”