Karen Pence Accused of Lies After Defending Unmasked Husband

Karen Pence was asked about her husband's decision on Tuesday to not wear a face mask when visiting Minnesota's Mayo Clinic, where he potentially put doctors, nurses, researchers, patients, and himself at risk of contracting COVID-19.

The Mayo Clinic issued guidance on April 13 advising all visitors to wear face masks to help stop the spread of COVID-19; the esteemed medical facility also offered to provide masks to any visitors without them. But on Tuesday's visit, Pence appeared to be the only person not wearing a mask there. After the resulting outcry, the Mayo Clinic tweeted that staff had informed Pence of the mask policy. The tweet was quickly deleted, but clinic officials confirmed in an email to media that they informed the vice president's staff about face masks before his arrival.

So now either the Mayo Clinic or the second lady is lying. On Thursday, Karen Pence not only told a Fox News talking head that her husband had no idea about the Mayo Clinic's mask policy, she suggested she knew more than hospital officials about the risks of not wearing personal protective equipment.

"As our medical experts have told us, wearing a mask prevents you from spreading disease. And knowing he doesn't have COVID-19, he didn't wear one," she said on Fox & Friends. "It was actually after he left Mayo Clinic that he found out they had a policy of asking everyone to wear a mask. So someone who's worked on this whole task force for over two months is not someone who would have done anything to offend anyone or hurt anyone or scare anyone."

Karen Pence's calmly worded response failed to placate many, at least on social media.