May 22, 2020

“A Petulant Child Who Refuses to Follow the Rules”: Michigan AG Slams Trump for Maskless Ford Plant Tour

Tia Dufour/White House/Planet Pix/Zuma

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President Trump on Thursday continued to defy public health experts by refusing to wear a mask during a visit to a Ford plant in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Afterward, in an interview, the state’s attorney general likened him to “a petulant child who refuses to follow the rules.”

During his appearance at the plant, which is producing ventilators, Trump told reporters that he had worn a mask on other parts of his tour, but that he “didn’t want the press to get the pleasure of seeing it.” An executive order in Michigan mandates the use of face coverings in enclosed public spaces, and Ford’s company policy requires the use of personal protective equipment.

“This is not a joke,” Dana Nessel told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on Thursday, adding that 23,000 people had died in Wayne County, near Ypsilanti. “He’s conveying the worst possible message to people who cannot afford to be on the receiving end of terrible misinformation, and it’s very, very concerning.”

Watch the video below:

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WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

About that: It’s unfathomably hard in the news business right now, and we came up about $28,000 short during our recent fall fundraising campaign. We simply have to make that up soon to avoid falling further behind than can be made up for, or needing to somehow trim $1 million from our budget, like happened last year.

If you can, please support the reporting you get from Mother Jones—that exists to make a difference, not a profit—with a donation of any amount today. We need more donations than normal to come in from this specific blurb to help close our funding gap before it gets any bigger.

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