BEDMINSTER – – It happened more than once as I covered a number of Donald Trump rallies this fall.

But one incident at a post-election rally down the road from Trump National stands out.

As I approached a rally participant for an interview, he surmised that I was an interloper – either a Biden supporter or a member of the media. Or as he said, “Fake News.”

That’s because I was wearing a mask.

The gent told me Trump really won the Nov. 3 election, but more relevant to the point at hand, he said masks were “overrated.”

There you have it – the political divide over not weighty policies of state, but basic medical advice.

And we know it’s been this way for months, or ever since the pandemic began. Nothing is ever 100 percent true 100 percent of the time, but as a rule, Democrats wear masks; Republicans don’t.

Former Governor Chris Christie has now entered the fray.

In a public service announcement popping up today, the one time Republican presidential candidate spends 30 seconds imploring everyone to wear masks in public.

Christie, as we know, was hospitalized with COVID-19 in October. And as he has admitted, he was seriously ill.

In the PSA,  Christie talks about “lying in isolation, ICU, for seven days,” and how wrong he was to remove his mask at a White House reception for new Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett.

And he expresses frustration that wearing a mask is dividing the country politically.

This divide stands logic on its head. We learn in kindergarten to cover one’s mouth when coughing or sneezing to prevent germs from spreading to others. So, it’s hardly a revolutionary concept to suggest wearing a mask to prevent others from contracting the virus.

A T-shirt I have seen some wearing at Trump rallies mocks those who fear the virus. It says, “My Rights Don’t End Where Your Fears Begin.”‘

This message ignorantly misses the point. Wearing a mask is not only about someone being afraid. It has to do with respecting others by not spreading the virus to them.

The Christie PSA ended thusly:

“If you don’t do the right thing, we can all end up on the wrong side of history. Please wear a mask.”

The former governor deserves credit, but the hunch here is that it’s not going to make much of a difference.

Many Trump backers follow the lead of the president, who has not exactly been a booster of facial coverings. And then, there’s the suspicion many Trump supporters have of just about anything official – the FBI, the courts, the media and, of course, science.

At that same rally, there were boos all around when Christie’s name was mentioned by one of the speakers. That was because he had criticized Trump’s legal team.

I imagine they would boo his PSA as well.