New York Daily News Muzzles Donald Trump On Silencing Front Page

Donald Trump on Friday said he likely won’t follow updated guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention  that ask people to wear masks  in public to slow the spread of the coronavirus .

“This is voluntary. I don’t think I am going to be doing it,” Trump told reporters during his daily coronavirus task force press briefing.

The New York Daily News slammed the president for his comment with its Saturday cover. “IF ONLY IT WERE A MUZZLE,” the tabloid headlined its front page featuring an image of a mask superimposed on Trump’s mouth:

The U.S. is now the country with the most confirmed coronavirus cases in the world. Some 277,000 people have been sickened nationwide and more than 7,400 killed.

The Daily News frequently uses its front page to call out Trump and his political allies. Only last week, the publication scorned the president’s stated hope to ease social distancing measures by Easter (against the advice of public health officials) in a bid to boost the economy, with this cover:

Vice President Mike Pence later appeared to walk back Trump’s Easter wish, calling it “really an aspirational goal.”