Pence admits he should have worn a mask while visiting the Mayo Clinic

Mike Pence at the Mayo Clinic.
(Image credit: AP Photo/Jim Mone)

After originally defending his decision not to wear a face mask while visiting with patients and doctors at the Mayo Clinic last week, Vice President Mike Pence on Sunday admitted that he should have put one on.

Under the Minnesota clinic's guidelines, anyone who walks onto the campus must wear a face mask. Pence, who is in charge of the administration's efforts to combat the coronavirus, was photographed walking around the clinic without a mask, the pictures showing him chatting with doctors and meeting a man who beat the virus and was donating his blood for research.

The criticism came swiftly, and Pence defended himself by saying the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that masks keep people from spreading COVID-19, and since he is regularly tested, he does not pose a risk. On Sunday, he appeared alongside President Trump at a Fox News virtual town hall, and said he "didn't think it was necessary, but I should have worn a mask at the Mayo Clinic." Wearing a mask is especially important, he added, because it's "really a statement about the American people, the way they have been willing to step forward, practice social distancing, and wear masks in settings where they can't do that."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.