On September 26, 2020, ABC reported that officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and White House delayed publication of a study by researchers from the University of Hawai’i which found that “people are more likely to wear masks if leaders promote a ‘positive attitude’ about them.” Jack Barile, Associate Professor at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa and former research fellow at the CDC co-authored the study and reported to ABC that he had been waiting “much of the summer” for the CDC to publish the study as one of the agency’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports.The study was finally published on July 14, 2020, which Barile noted was just three days after President Trump wore a face mask for the first time during a visit to Walter Reed Memorial Hospital. Barile told reporters that “[t]here’s always been political influence on CDC publications, but it’s been a lot stronger with the COVID situation” and expressed concern about the publication of scientific research being predicated on the actions of elected officials rather than the merit of the science in question. The White House responded to ABC News denying that “politics is influencing approvals or decisions.” The CDC did not offer any comment on the situation.