Trump pictured wearing face mask despite not wanting to give press 'pleasure' of seeing him in it

President Trump has not commented on photos which emerged last night

Pictures showing Donald Trump wearing a mask have began circulating online after the president toured a Ford plant in Michigan.

MSNBC news aired one unconfirmed photo of Mr Trump wearing a mask on Thursday night but did not cite the source of the photo.

President Trump had denied calls to wear a protective mask hours earlier, as he toured the Ypsilanti plant producing ventilators to beat the coronavirus.

“I wore one in the back area, but I didn’t want to press to get the pleasure of seeing it,” the president told reporters whilst Ford workers and executives wore masks.

In pictures that later emerged, Mr Trump could be seen wearing a dark coloured mask adorned with the presidential seal in one corner.

The same photo was later shown on The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell hours but MSNBC did not credit the source at the time.

It is possible that an employee at the Ford plant captured the picture that was taken in private on Thursday, although this has not been confirmed.

Whilst NBC news said it could confirm the photo’s authenticity, Politico's chief correspondent Tim Alberta suggest on Twitter that the photo had come from someone inside the plant.

Meanwhile MSNBC host Bill Ritter deleted a tweet with the picture on Thursday night.

He later explained that “ABC put it out and then ruled that they weren’t yet able to confirm the photo.”

Ford said in a statement that “Bill Ford encouraged President Trump to wear a mask when he arrived”, in line with company policy on mask wearing.

Mr Trump added that whilst he looked “better in the mask” he had stopped wearing one because he was making a speech.

Still, some supporters were critical of Thursday’s tour, with pro-Trump Nevada attorney Joey Gilbert writing on Twitter that Michigan’s state governor and attorney were “freaks” because they demanded Mr Trump wear a mask.

“Holy s**t the attorney general in Michigan lost her mind and has complete and total Trump derangement syndrome; I’ve never seen anything like it,” wrote Mr Gilbert.

“Hey NUTJOB, he’s tested daily, is on HDC (look it up crazy) & YOU KNOW DAMN WELL YOU TAKE OFF YOUR MASK!! FREAKS!”

The Independent has contacted the White House for comment.