Don Lemon sighed in frustration, and Mike Pence’s excuses were “ridiculous”. (CNN/ YouTube)
CNN host Don Lemon has slammed US vice president and homophobic Mike Pence for disregarding a hospital’s mask-wearing policy while meeting coronavirus patients.
Pence, who is taking a break from his long career of fomenting anti-LGBT+ hatred to lead the White House efforts to tackle coronavirus, paid a visit to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota on Monday, April 27.
The hospital insists that “all patients, visitors and staff wear a face covering or mask to slow the spread of COVID-19”, but a video was released of Pence, the chair of the White House coronavirus task force, visiting patients recovering from the virus with no mask in sight.
PENCE flouts Mayo Clinic policy that everyone on campus wear a mask, even as he meets with staff and a patient. pic.twitter.com/kfo64KQDhU
— Dan Diamond (@ddiamond) April 28, 2020
Pence insisted at a press conference that there is no need for him to wear a mask because he is “regularly tested” for coronavirus, and added that he chose not to wear a mask because he wanted to “be able to speak to these researchers, these incredible health-care personnel and look them in the eye and say, ‘Thank you.’”
Don Lemon said excuses from Mike Pence were “ridiculous”.
Appearing on CNN on Tuesday, Don Lemon blasted Mike Pence saying “there is literally no excuse for this”.
Sighing in frustration, he said: “What about the fact it’s possible for a coronavirus test to be inaccurate? And it’s possible for you to contract and spread the virus after you’ve tested negative? You would think that the head of the task force would know these facts.”
CNN then showed clips of Dr Anthony Fauci describing how it is possible to catch the virus immediately after testing negative and Dr Deborah Birx explaining the importance of masks.
Lemon continued: “So the advice from the experts is clear. Remember, he’s the head of the task force. The head of the task force. The advice is to wear a mask.”
On Pence’s statement that he wanted to look healthcare professionals “in the eye”, Lemon got even more frustrated, putting on a mask and asking: “Can you see my eyes?”
“It’s not an eye mask we’re talking about! This is ridiculous. We all know that you can look somebody in the eye while wearing a mask.
“Millions of Americans have been wearing masks during this pandemic, and guess what? They can still see.”
In a tweet, the hospital clarified after the incident: “Mayo Clinic had informed [the vice president] of the masking policy prior to his arrival today.”
However, the message was mysteriously deleted after Pence began to receive criticism.