Vice President Mike Pence visited the renowned Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, but as video shows he refused to wear a face mask, which the CDC has said is vital to slow the spread of coronavirus. Pence also ignored critical social distancing guidelines. He was the only person not wearing a mask, and the Mayo Clinic was forced to issue a statement later announcing they had informed him of their masking policy, which he clearly ignored.
It’s also unclear why Pence is traveling at all, given much of the nation is still under guidelines that urge stay-at-home policies and opening of only essential businesses. On Tuesday the coronavirus pandemic reached one million U.S. cases and more than 57,000 U.S. deaths. NPR notes that Minnesota is “a key 2020 battleground state that favored Hillary Clinton in 2016 and elected a Democratic governor in 2018.”
Here’s a short clip of the Vice President, the only person in the room not wearing a mask.
Many were appalled, given masks help slow the spread of coronavirus, and leading by example is a requirement of the job.
UPDATE: 3:04 PM ET –
“Forget that he’s the vice president, this is the kind of human being that repels me at the grocery store,” says MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace. She notes that the entire building wore masks.