The Biden and Trump campaigns are bickering over Vice President Mike Pence’s decision not to wear a face mask during a visit to a Minnesota Mayo Clinic.
Biden spokeswoman Kate Bedingfield fired the first shot Tuesday, calling Pence’s trip to the state President Trump’s team hopes to win in November’s election part of a “damage control tour.”
“While Vice President Pence tours the country attempting to paper over the Trump Administration’s delayed, insufficient response to this pandemic by passing the buck to governors and posing for photos at the finish line, Vice President Biden stands firmly with Minnesotans — and Americans across the country — in listening to public health experts and following the science so we can keep Americans safe and get our economy back on track,” Bedingfield wrote.
Trump spokesman Andrew Clarke sniped back, saying Biden was heckling “from the sidelines” as Pence acknowledged America’s healthcare workers for their “incredible” work trying to better understand the novel coronavirus. The email subject line for his missive asked, “Why Is Joe Biden Attacking VP Mike Pence for Thanking Mayo Clinic Researchers?”
But Pence’s efforts to highlight a partnership between the Mayo Clinic and the University of Minnesota aimed at ramping up COVID-19 research and testing was derailed by questions over why he didn’t wear a mask when he visited a Mayo employee recovering from the virus who was donating plasma for therapy treatment, when he toured a diagnostic testing lab, or during a roundtable on Mayo’s programs.
The Biden campaign quickly pounced on the negative press coverage, sharing select articles with its media lists.
Under pressure, Mayo said Pence had been advised of its policy to wear a mask before the trip, in line with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines pushed by the White House’s COVID-19 task force, which the vice president leads.
Pence defended his choice by explaining he was regularly tested for the virus and wasn’t at risk of spreading it, the main reason why the federal government recommended donning a mask.
“Since I don’t have the coronavirus, I thought it’d be a good opportunity for me to be here, to be able to speak to these researchers, these incredible healthcare personnel, and look them in the eye and say ‘thank you,’” he said.
Pence’s move reflects Trump’s personal distaste for wearing a mask.
“I don’t know, somehow, I don’t see it for myself. I just don’t. Maybe I’ll change my mind,” the president said in April, repeating that the guidance was voluntary.
