The White House could not provide a clear answer to the question of why President Joe Biden was wearing a mask while on Marine One.
Rich Sementa, executive producer of “The Mark Levin Show,” shared audio of a question asked by a reporter about the matter.
“Can you tell us why the president was wearing a mask when he stepped off Marine One?” a reporter asked White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
Jean-Pierre replied, “I don’t know. I did not notice that. We all wore our masks on Marine One.”
The reporter added, “He doesn’t usually wear a mask, or at least we don’t see him wearing one when he gets off … He was wearing one, and so were some other aides who were traveling with him … Was he exposed to someone?”
Jean-Pierre explained, “I was on Marine One, and I put my mask on … I can tell you this: Yesterday, he tested negative on an antigen test for COVID-19. That part I know.”
Jean-Pierre Has No Clue Why Biden Was Wearing A Mask On Marine Onehttps://t.co/Wyt0rRdYDX
— Mr Producer (@RichSementa) January 4, 2023
In April 2022, Biden told reporters the decision Americans will make on whether to wear a mask is “up to them.”
Last fall, Biden declared the pandemic over during an interview with “60 Minutes.”
“We still have a problem with COVID. We’re still doing a lot of work on it. But the pandemic is over,” Biden said.
The president received criticism from some for his declaration.
Yale epidemiologist Gregg Gonsalves tweeted, “Nothing, nothing has made me more disgusted by our party than what the President said on 60 Minutes last night about the COVID-19 pandemic being over.”
Nothing, nothing has made me more disgusted by our party than what the President said on 60 Minutes last night about the COVID-19 pandemic being over. 3/
— Gregg Gonsalves (@gregggonsalves) September 19, 2022
He added, “We lead in overall COVID mortality and excess deaths among the G7. Life expectancy in the US is down and has not rebounded. Hundreds of thousands of Americans are likely to suffer from long COVID. And we’re grossly under-vaccinated and under-boosted as a country.”
We lead in overall COVID mortality and excess deaths among the G7. Life expectancy in the US is down and has not rebounded. Hundreds of thousands of Americans are likely to suffer from long COVID. And we’re grossly under-vaccinated and under-boosted as a country. 7/
— Gregg Gonsalves (@gregggonsalves) September 19, 2022
It appears the Biden administration is still concerned about the virus.
On Wednesday, Fox News noted the administration extended the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for foreign travelers.