Reporters were literally taken back when White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows took off his mask at a recent press conference.
Reporters were on Capitol Hill on Monday when Meadows took off his mask as he started to address the crowd per a video caught by White House correspondent Yamiche Alcindor. Before he removed his mask, he was seen pulling away from the group and saying, “I’m at least 10 feet away.” A reporter is heard gasping and saying, “oh,” as he removed the face mask.
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He grew frustrated, placed his mask back on and said “I’m not going to talk through a mask,” and walked away. But Meadows is known for not wearing a mask despite the threat of COVID-19 which is an easily transmittable disease. At his daughter’s May wedding in Atlanta, the chief of staff and most of the guests at the affair were seen without a mask, per the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
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The event, which featured almost 70 guests wearing tuxedos and ball gowns but no masks, was held at Atlanta’s Biltmore Ballrooms and defied coronavirus restrictions. The New York Times reviewed photos of the event. One photo showed Meadows giving a speech with no mask on as the onlookers stared, also without masks. Photos also showed him dancing with his daughter and shaking hands with guests.
In early October, critics voiced their opinion when Meadows briefed another group of reporters with no mask. While on CNN after the briefing, Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy said Meadows’ behavior was “disturbing.”
“It was disturbing to see Mark Meadows doing that briefing, having been in close contact with the President, and not wearing a mask. He says he had tested negative, but often, those positive results don’t show up for several days,” Murphy said.
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