At a time when the coronavirus pandemic has claimed more than 100,000 lives in the U.S. First Lady Melania Trump is promoting a double-standard because she’s been observed wearing a mask in private but, like her husband, President Donald Trump, not when she’s out in public.

She’s been seen wearing a mask while sitting next to her husband on Marine One, where seating on the helicopter can be quite cramped if there are several people on board.

But out in public? Nope. She mirrors her husband, The Daily Mail reports.

Contrast that with former Vice President Joe Biden and his wife Jill, who were seen sporting black masks at a Memorial Day function, where they laid a wreath at the Delaware Memorial Bridge Veterans Memorial Park. The president and First Lady, on the other hand, didn’t wear masks in public. And Trump used the opportunity to mock Biden, retweeting a post from Fox News political analyst Brit Hume, who wrote:

“This might help explain why Trump doesn’t like to wear a mask in public. Biden today,” he tweeted to his 80 million followers, showing a close-up photo of Biden wearing the dark mask and sunglasses at a Memorial Day event.

In a country where so many people are suffering and have died from this horrible illness, that’s pretty hypocritical. Perhaps it’s the Melania Trump version of “do as I say, not as I do.” Certainly, there are greater chances of contracting the virus in cramped places where social distancing isn’t possible, but even out in the open it’s possible to become infected. This is why so many states have issued stay-at-home executive orders and mandated that people wear masks in public.

But President Trump, with Melania in tow, attended numerous Memorial Day events, with neither one wearing masks at the Tomb of The Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery and at Ft. McHenry in Baltimore, or even while strolling across the White House lawn to board Marine One. Once she boarded the helicopter, she was photographed wearing a white mask that matched her white outfit.

And she’s not the only one (besides her husband, of course), who scoffs at wearing a mask in public. Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany also removed their masks upon leaving Marine One.

Trump acts as if he thinks not wearing a mask is some sort of badge of honor and stubbornly refused to wear one during a visit to a Detroit-based Ford Motor plant, in defiance of Michigan ordinances that require people to wear face coverings. And that’s even after presented a mask that featured the presidential seal. Oh, he wore one in the back of the factory but then said he didn’t want to give reporters the “pleasure” of seeing him in a mask. Because of course he did.”

“I wore one in this back area,” he said. “I didn’t want to give the press the pleasure of seeing it.”

Perhaps this is all part of Trump’s push to “reopen” the country as he’s been said to believe that wearing a mask sends the wrong message. He’s doing this while members of his own staff have tested positive for COVID-19, sending a clear message that he doesn’t care about the welfare of others.

. @FLOTUS wearing one while traveling on Marine One yesterday, with @realDonaldTrump. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ https://t.co/KPvql13K8D pic.twitter.com/p7ceTNP1Up

— Kate Bennett (@KateBennett_DC) May 26, 2020

Melania has taken a more stringent approach, sending some of her staffers home early on and advising those she oversees in the residence and on the East Wing to wear masks. And she has advised people to wear masks and continue practicing social distancing, citing the CDC as a reference.

“As some states slowly start to open businesses, please be sure to check CDC guidelines, continue to practice social distancing & wear a face cover,” she tweeted in late April. “We need to make sure we slowly get back to normal while still fighting to keep the virus suppressed.”

But it’s hypocritical of her to make these announcements when she doesn’t follow the guidelines herself. All her efforts really do is encourage the rabid fools who worship her and her husband to emulate what they see her doing. It encourages them to whine that masks are a violation of their “freedoms” and to harass those who are considerate enough to wear masks in order to prevent others from getting sick. This is the virtual representation of holding up a middle finger to those with chronic illnesses, the elderly, and the kind doctors and nurses who are sacrificing their lives to keep the rest of us well.

That’s what this really is.