sSince March, Mr. Trump has taken a relaxed approach to the pandemic – so it may not come as a shock that this has translated into his staff.

The first set of face masks was delivered to the White House in February, as the virus began spreading from Wuhan, but some West Wing employees claim they have discouraged their wearing.

“If you had the whole West Wing running around in masks, it just wasn’t looking good,” one management official told CNN.

According to the anonymous official, the West Wing wanted to “show confidence and make the public think there is nothing to worry about at all.”

Others claimed that a memorandum to White House employees from May, ordering them to wear masks in the building other than to sit at their desks, had been largely ignored.

The president’s family has often taken a largely permissive approach to wearing masks.

During Tuesday’s debate, First Lady Melania is seen wearing a white mask, but no other member of the Trump family has chosen to attend, including the children of President Ivanka, Don Jr., Eric, and Tiffany Trump.

Before testing positive for the virus, White House employee Hope Hicks was spotted unmasked as she boarded Marines One on Wednesday.

She walked into the president’s helicopter with fellow senior presidential advisers, such as Stephen Miller, Dan Scavino and Jared Kushner, all of whom also ignored wearing one.