Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden appeared to ignore social distancing and mask guidelines during his Thursday evening drive-in town hall on CNN.
During a break in the questions, as the cameras began to zoom out and away from Biden and host Anderson Cooper, the former vice president approached Cooper and leaned in to whisper something to him. (RELATED: PATEL: Biden Could Win Big And Unite The Country; The Scary Part Is He’s Chosen Not To Do It)
WATCH:
Joe Biden and Anderson Cooper are making a point of social distancing during the CNN Town Hall while on the stage.
But when they think they’ve gone to commercial break, they get so close to each other that Biden is whispering in Cooper’s ear: pic.twitter.com/ClZXrxFfSo
— Steve Krakauer (@SteveKrak) September 18, 2020
“Fox & Friends” weekend host Pete Hegseth caught the moment as well, mocking Biden for ignoring the rules when he had repeatedly called for mask mandates.
“Mask-mandate Joe whispering sweet nothings to @andersoncooper. Just didn’t know the cameras were still rolling,” Hegseth tweeted.
Mask-mandate Joe whispering sweet nothings to @andersoncooper. Just didn’t know the cameras were still rolling… pic.twitter.com/o9fPB1n5FH
— Pete Hegseth (@PeteHegseth) September 18, 2020
Biden and Cooper reportedly both tested negative for coronavirus prior to the event, which means neither likely posed much of a risk to the other.
Anderson Cooper says he tested negative this morning for covid.
“I got tested too,” Joe Biden says as he comes on stage and removes his mask.
— Matt Viser (@mviser) September 18, 2020
But Biden has also said numerous times that one of the important reasons for those in leadership roles to wear masks was to set an example for others.
The President has a duty to set an example. https://t.co/9bkSknbOds pic.twitter.com/OwiCo345Ph
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) September 4, 2020
Presidents are supposed to lead by example — and every day Donald Trump proves how incapable he is of doing that. https://t.co/B0t497xxHc
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) May 27, 2020