President Biden’s top spokeswoman deflected a question about the maskless appearance of the commander-in-chief despite his own tenure Wednesday night, telling reporters he was “celebrating the afternoon of a historic day” and had “more problems important to worry about. “
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki’s response came a day after Biden was seen face down at the Lincoln Memorial, hours after signing an executive order requiring the use of masks on federal property. .
“He was celebrating the eve of a historic day in our country and he certainly signed the mask mandate because it’s a way to send a message to the American public about the importance of wearing masks, how you can save dozens of thousands of lives. ” Psaki staggered during a press conference on Thursday.
“We take a number of precautions against COVID, as you know here, in terms of testing, social distancing, dressing in masks, as we do every day,” he added. “I don’t know I have more things for you than that.”
Wednesday night, the newly inaugurated president and members of his family were seen without masks inside the Lincoln Memorial, images from CSPAN and journalists’ tweets were shown.
Psaki was pressured by Fox News journalist Peter Doocy about whether Biden was setting a “good example” for Americans by being left without a mask in light of his new term.
“I think we have more important issues to worry about right now,” he replied.
In November, then-President-elect Biden told Americans it was their “patriotic duty” to limit the spread of coronavirus to family Thanksgiving celebrations, asking them to “give up so many of the traditions that we’ve been doing this for a long time. “
“I know how difficult it is to give up family traditions. But it is very important. Our country is in the midst of a dramatic rise in cases, “he said in a statement in November.
“We owe it to each other. It is literally our patriotic duty as Americans. It means wearing a mask, keeping social distance, limiting the size of any group we are in until we have a vaccine. These are the most effective tools to fight the virus, “he said.
In a 17-minute pre-Thanksgiving speech, Biden insisted that “none of these measures we ask people to make are political statements. Each is based on science.”
He said: “The federal government cannot do this alone. Each of us has a responsibility in our lives to do what we can to stop the virus. All the decisions we make are important. “