President Donald Trump issued a stern warning to 3M after the Minnesota-based company sold much needed N95 masks to foreign governments rather than Americans.
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 epidemic, N95 masks have been in short supply and high demand as they can play a role in preventing transmission of the disease. Recently, shortages of the masks have been so severe that Amazon decided to stop selling them to the public, Thursday, because hospitals are in danger of running out, reports CNBC.
As American healthcare providers and the US government struggle to acquire N95 masks, 3M has been selling them to foreign governments. This practice caught Trump’s attention prompting a presidential tweet, Thursday night, as he warned that the Minneapolis based company “will have a big price to pay!”
We hit 3M hard today after seeing what they were doing with their Masks. “P Act” all the way. Big surprise to many in government as to what they were doing – will have a big price to pay!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 3, 2020
Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson also called attention to 3M’s role in mask shortages on his show, Thursday. “Why are we short of something as simple as a mask?” he asked.
To answer this question, Tucker spoke with Jared Moskowitz, the director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management.
“Authorized distributors, US companies, are telling me that the reason why our orders are being pushed down is because foreign countries are showing up with cash to purchase the orders [of masks],” he said. Moskowitz added that 3M took no steps to prevent this behavior, and that trying to acquire masks for health professionals who are on the “front lines” of the coronavirus epidemic is like “chasing ghosts.”
Tucker Carlson & @JaredEMoskowitz Calling Out @3M Selling Masks to Foreign Governments Instead of to Americans
Jared: “I can’t & other emergency management directors can’t get this life-saving PPE because a company decided to make a Globalist decision and not put America First.” pic.twitter.com/wPoFQnm6ej
— The Columbia Bugle 🇺🇸 (@ColumbiaBugle) April 3, 2020
3M has failed to comply with the White House’s demands to re-route 10,000,000 masks destined for Asia into the American market, according to an inside source, reports the Financial Times. White House officials have also failed to persuade the company to limit mask exports to Canada and Mexico.
In contrast to 3M’s apparent disregard for the needs of its own community, many Minnesotans have stepped up to do what they can to assist medical workers struggling to find masks.
Mike Lindell announced recently that his Minnesota-based company, MyPillow, has started making face masks to be donated to hospitals nationwide.
A pair of small Minnesota Organizations, Sew Good and Treadle, have also pitched in, supplying volunteers with the necessary materials to craft masks for hospitals in the comfort of their own homes.
Kyle Hooten
Kyle Hooten is Managing Editor of Alpha News. His coverage of Minneapolis has been featured on television shows like Tucker Carlson Tonight and in print media outlets like the Wall Street Journal.
