ABC News’s Jon Karl says his tweet showing Fox News chief White House correspondent John Roberts without a mask in a Rose Garden press briefing on Monday was misconstrued.
Karl tweeted on Tuesday in response to his photos showing reporters wearing masks with the exception of Roberts: “Yesterday I tweeted photos of the extraordinary scene in the Rose Garden. The photo of @johnrobertsfox left the wrong impression. He is a good reporter who cares about protecting his colleagues and his family. He was practicing social distancing. I did not mean to imply otherwise.”
Yesterday I tweeted photos of the extraordinary scene in the Rose Garden. The photo of @johnrobertsfox left the wrong impression. He is a good reporter who cares about protecting his colleagues and his family. He was practicing social distancing. I did not mean to imply otherwise
— jonkarl (@jonkarl) May 12, 2020
Karl told the Hill he didn’t mean to shame anybody, and he simply tweeted four photos showing “just about everybody wearing a mask in the Rose Garden — something we have never seen before.”
The tweet that came Monday was captioned “almost everybody in the Rose Garden is wearing a mask — almost everybody,” showing Roberts in one photo as the sole reporter without a mask on.
Roberts hit back after noticing the tweet calling it a “petty effort at shaming.” He also said he put a mask on shortly after the briefing began.
“Facts – I was quietly seated more than 6′ away from the closest person (adhering to CDC social distancing guidelines) When the press conference began, I put mask on. So – what, exactly is the basis for this petty effort at shaming????” Roberts tweeted.
