‘Malarkey’: Kerry Says Dropped Mask On Commercial Flight Was ‘Momentary’

PARIS, FRANCE - MARCH 10: US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry wearing a protective face mask mask waves as he arrives ahead of a meeting with French President, Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Presiden... PARIS, FRANCE - MARCH 10: US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry wearing a protective face mask mask waves as he arrives ahead of a meeting with French President, Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Presidential Palace on March 10, 2021 in Paris, France. John Kerry meets with Emmanuel Macron today as part of his tour of Europe to talk about strengthening cooperation in the fight against climate change. John Kerry, who signed the negotiated climate agreement in December 2015, as Barack Obama's chief diplomat, has become the climate man of US President Joe Biden. (Photo by Chesnot/Getty Images) MORE LESS
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

Presidential climate envoy John Kerry on Wednesday denied removing his mask intended to protect against the spread of coronavirus for a lengthy period during a  flight earlier in the day after a photo surfaced that appeared to show him aboard a plane without a mask on.

Kerry said in a tweet Wednesday evening that if he had dropped his mask to one ear in flight, “it was momentary.”

“I wear my mask because it saves lives and stops the spread,” he added. “It’s what the science tells us to do.”

According to The Tennessee Star, who first published the image, the photo was snapped aboard an American Airlines flight en route to Washington, D.C. from Boston. An anonymous passenger later told Fox News they saw Kerry wearing his mask while at the flight’s boarding gate, but claimed he removed it shortly after boarding.

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AK)  who once claimed that the novel coronavirus may have been originated in a lab, and has been seen without a mask himself on Capitol Hill, seized the moment to chastise the Biden official for the apparent lapse.

He suggested that leaders should “set a good example” if they’re going to impose rules on the American people, suggesting “they should try to follow those rules as well.”

“I don’t know all of the circumstances here. But John Kerry has a long record of imposing one set of rules on Americans and not following those rules,” Cotton said.

American Airlines spokesperson Stacy Day said in a statement obtained by USA TODAY that cabin crew “did not observe Secretary Kerry without a mask, and they were not alerted by other customers to a non-compliance issue.”

“We continue to review the matter and we are reaching out to Secretary Kerry to underscore that all customers are expected to wear masks for the duration of their trip,” she added.

Latest News

Notable Replies

  1. When ya got nuthin’, ya got Cotton.

  2. The worst part of being “of a certain age” is knowing you’re too old to outlive all the various miscreants and assholes in the world like Cotton and Gaetz. You’ll never live a day without them, ever again. I got to watch them bury Jesse Helms, Strom Thurmond, Richard Nixon. But these bastards will bury me. Sheesh.

  3. they are a bunch of you know whats

  4. Karma has a quirky sense of humor. You may luck out.

  5. With Cotton, and Republicans generally, every accusation is a confession.

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

76 more replies

Participants

Avatar for paulw Avatar for silas1898 Avatar for bobatkinson Avatar for cervantes Avatar for steviedee111 Avatar for squirreltown Avatar for teenlaqueefa Avatar for arrendis Avatar for bonvivant Avatar for stradivarius50t3 Avatar for left_in_washington_state Avatar for karlsgems Avatar for thomasmatthew Avatar for nobiru Avatar for bankerpup Avatar for dannydorko Avatar for maximus Avatar for joce_m Avatar for 10c Avatar for justruss Avatar for 19tibekius6 Avatar for antb Avatar for emiliano4 Avatar for LeeHarveyGriswold

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: