Joe Biden Slammed For Removing Mask To Cough In His Hand At Las Vegas Rally
During a drive-in campaign event in Las Vegas, Nevada on Friday, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden encouraged voters to send their ballots in early and spoke about his plans to help the state amid the coronavirus pandemic. Afterward, Biden received criticism for one moment during the event when he removed his mask and coughed into his hand.
You can't make this up.
Joe Biden just removed his mask to cough in his hand.
Talk about unsanitary! pic.twitter.com/4rwJvHA3LS
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) October 9, 2020
Not long after the event, PJ Media criticized the former vice president for his actions, which it deemed unsanitary.
“First, as you can see in the video below, he was unnecessarily wearing a mask while alone at his podium. Second, he was wearing it wrong, with his only his mouth covered, and not his nose. But the real absurdity came when he had to cough, and he literally pulled his mask down to cough into his hand, before readjusting his mask (correctly) and placing his now germ-ridden hand on the podium that some campaign intern would then be tasked with removing.”
The publication noted Donald Trump’s claim that Biden uses his mask as a political prop and suggested that the Democrat’s actions on Friday support the president’s point. In particular, the publication noted that Biden wore his mask improperly while in front of a crowd of people inside their cars.
Many others took to social media to express their dismay at Biden’s behavior.
Biden, at a “drive-in” campaign event in Nevada, calls Pres. Trump “reckless” as Biden coughs into his hand, coughs into a mask that keeps sliding down his face, and stumbles over numbers, mentioning a $15 million dollar.. thousand dollar… minimum wage.
— Jenn Pellegrino (@JennPellegrino) October 9, 2020
(1/) Biden coughing 50 times during a 20 minute speech = NO BIG DEAL
Trump coughing twice during 20+ minute interview on Hannity = END OF THE WORLD
Yes, the President has COVID & will cough periodically for a few weeks. It’s called a post-viral cough & does not mean he is dying
— Joe Giannotti (@stanleycupot) October 9, 2020
As reported by Fox News, Biden has been criticized for his lack of sanitation amid the pandemic in the past. In March, the former vice president coughed into his hand during a virtual interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, who quickly told him he should cough into his elbow.
“Actually, that’s true,” Biden responded. “But fortunately, I’m alone in my home, but that’s OK. I agree you’re right.”
Tapper doubled down on his advice and urged Biden to cough into his elbow instead of his hand — an approach he called “old-school.”
Unlike Biden, Trump has refused to wear a mask on many occasions. The president recently contracted COVID-19 and stayed at Walter Reed Medical Center for treatment. He has since claimed that he is no longer contagious and plans to hold a rally in the coming days — against the advice of public health experts.
Trump recently caused alarm when he repeatedly coughed during his interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity. Per Mediaite, CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta noted that Trump is still within the 10-day window from when he first developed symptoms. Notably, Dr. Anthony Fauci previously claimed the president must go 10 days without symptoms to have the possibility of no longer being contagious.
