Washington, September 8: President Donald Trump on Monday asked a Reuters White House reporter who was wearing a mask to remove it. When reporter Jeff Mason started to speak, he was interrupted by the President, who said, "You’re going to have to take that off, please. You can take it off. How many feet are you away?” Mason said he would speak louder but Trump was not satisfied. “Well, if you don’t take it off, you’re very muffled, so if you would take it off, it would be a lot easier,” he said.

The reporter then raised his voice and said, "Is that better?”, to which Trump replied, "It’s... better, yeah.”. According to a CBS news report, when later in the press conference another report removed his mask to answer a question,  Trump pointedly remarked, “You sound so clear.” COVID-19 Vaccine May Be Ready by October Ahead of US Presidential 2020 Election, Says Donald Trump; Joe Biden Demands 'Transparency & Scientific Facts'.

Here's what Donald Trump told reporter Jeff Mason, watch video:

On Monday, Trump hinted that US could approve a coronavirus vaccine in October, ahead of the US Presidential election in November. At a news conference, Trump was quoted saying, "This could’ve taken two or three years, and instead it’s going to be -- going to be done in a very short period of time."

Trump further slammed his Democratic Counterpart, Joe Biden, saying that he and "Biden is a stupid person--you know that," to reporters at White House.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 08, 2020 08:47 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).