Perhaps, as White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre insists, President Biden quickly and abruptly left a Medal of Honor ceremony honoring a Vietnam War veteran on Tuesday as a precaution against Covid. Biden has not tested positive for Covid, but he’s sometimes wearing a mask anyway, because his wife, Jill Biden, tested positive Monday.
As Jean-Pierre put it:
Again, he wanted to make sure he had those really important remarks to share about the heroics and what the captain — Captain Taylor did on behalf of his country. So, yes, he took off his mask.
And then — but what we made sure to happen is that there was a brief pause — when there was a pause in the program, the President left, so to minimize his — his impact or his — in his impact towards the attendees who were there. And so, that was done on purpose. That was done very purposefully so that, again, he wasn’t — he wasn’t there for too long.
But then there’s the question of why the 80-year-old Biden was unmasked while standing next to the 81-year-old retired Army captain Larry Taylor. Nor did Biden put his mask back on before walking down the aisle, through the assembled audience. If this was all done “very purposefully,” Biden seems to believe he’s not at risk of spreading Covid standing next to another senior citizen or by walking by lots of people, but that he is at risk by standing around during the benediction.
Or maybe there was a much more mundane reason, such as Biden needing to use the bathroom. (Biden looks a little uncomfortable as he quickly steps off the stage.) It happens to everyone, and it’s really not that unusual for an octogenarian.
If Jean-Pierre had simply said, “the president needed to use the bathroom,” maybe there would have been some jokes on social media, but the consequences would be minimal. Nobody’s voting for or against Joe Biden in 2024 based on their assessment of his bladder. Instead, by insisting Biden’s departure was a deliberate and planned Covid mitigation strategy, Jean-Pierre has ensured there will be a lot more attention about when and where Biden chooses to wear a mask, and when he departs public events, in the coming days.