‘Don’t Tell Them I Didn’t Have It’: Biden Skirts Mask Mandate After COVID Exposure

U.S. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden depart the White House in Washington en route to Florida on Sept. 2, 2023. Anna Rose Layden/Getty Images

President Biden chose not to wear a mask while addressing reporters on Wednesday even as the White House insisted he would be wearing one for some days following first lady Jill Biden’s COVID-19 infection.

President Biden walked into the White House State Dining Room holding a face mask in his hand instead of wearing it, USA Today reported.

“Let me explain to the press: I’ve been tested again today. I’m clear across the board, but they keep telling me, because this has to be 10 days or something, I got to keep wearing it. But don’t tell them I didn’t have it on when I walked in. All right?” President Biden said.

After talking for about 10 minutes, he left the room with the mask still in hand.

The first lady tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday, Sept. 4. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says people who have been exposed to someone infected with COVID-19 should wear “a high-quality mask when indoors around others (including inside your home) for 10 days.”

On Sept. 5, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters that “since the president was with the first lady yesterday, he will be masking while indoors and around people. … He’s going to be very cautious; he’s going to wear a mask.”

However, President Biden’s recent remarks to the press without a mask contradicted the press secretary’s assertion.

President Removes Mask at Ceremony

Earlier on Tuesday, President Biden took part in a White House Medal of Honor ceremony for Vietnam War veteran Capt. Larry Taylor. Even though President Biden arrived wearing a mask, he took it off while delivering remarks and during the honoring of Capt. Taylor.

In a Sept. 6 press briefing, Ms. Jean-Pierre said the president took off the mask during the event “to deliver incredibly powerful remarks about this captain—Captain Taylor” and to “honor the captain.”

“For a brief time afterwards, he also didn’t have his mask on,” she said. “He left when there was a pause in the program in order to minimize his close contact with attendees.”

President Biden was set to meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday—a day before the G20 summit is scheduled to be hosted in the country.

When a reporter asked whether the president would wear a mask while meeting with G20 leaders, Ms. Jean-Pierre said that “he is going to be masking. He’s going to be making sure that he is getting tested regularly, in consultation with his physician.”

President Joe Biden removes his mask to speak at a news conference at the White House in Washington on April 14, 2021. AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, Pool, File

President Biden’s decision not to wear a face mask comes amid concerns of potential mandates being imposed due to rising COVID-19 cases. COVID-19 hospitalizations have increased over 15 percent in the past week, according to the CDC.

Mask Mandate Opposition

Some public health officials are calling for imposing mask mandates while a few businesses and universities have already announced such regulations.

Republicans have strongly opposed such proposals.

“If Joe Biden tries to implement another mask mandate or another round of COVID shutdowns, a lot of the country is going to say, ‘no, and hell no.’ Texas has zero interest in shutting down again,” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said in a Sept. 8 post on X.

Back in June, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill banning government entities from imposing mask mandates. The bill went into effect on Sept. 1. The rules do not apply to private entities.

Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) introduced the “Freedom to Breathe Act,” to prohibit federal officials from issuing mask mandates in domestic air travel, public travel systems, or primary, secondary, and post-secondary schools.

It would also prohibit educational institutions, transit authorities, and air carriers from refusing service to any individual who does not wear a mask.

“We tried mask mandates once in this country. They failed to control the spread of respiratory viruses, violated basic bodily freedom, and set our fellow citizens against one another,” Mr. Vance said in a statement.

“This legislation will ensure that no federal bureaucracy, no commercial airline, and no public school can impose the misguided policies of the past. Democrats say they’re not going to bring back mask mandates—we’re going to hold them to their word.”

Even though face masks are being pushed as a way to control COVID-19 spread, several studies have suggested that this is not true.

According to a January review published at the Cochrane Library, an analysis of 78 randomized controlled trials “did not show a clear reduction in respiratory viral infection with the use of medical/surgical masks.”

In addition, “there were no clear differences between the use of medical/surgical masks compared with N95/P2 respirators in healthcare workers when used in routine care to reduce respiratory viral infection,” it said.

Another review, published in the “Frontiers in Public Health” on April 5, analyzed 2,168 studies that looked into the adverse effects of wearing masks during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The review found that wearing masks led to negative health consequences, including itching, headaches, and restriction of oxygen.