One of them told him that he could not wear a mask in public because it would show weakness and piss off the base, and everyone else blindly agreed. Because they probably knew what he wanted to hear, they encouraged him to be tough, which meant not showing empathy for the millions of people who were sick or afraid.
There was someone who was trying to get the right thing said but was being overridden with this and I've forgotten who, I'm sorry.
