Jim Acosta, Jon Karl, White House Reporters Wear Masks at Press Briefing

Two prominent White House television correspondents wore masks to the White House Press briefing on Friday.

CNN reporter Jim Acosta and ABC News reporter Jon Karl both wore masks during the televised briefing, the first time since the coronavirus virus pandemic began.

The decision to wear masks happened after President Trump mocked journalists on Thursday for failing to wear masks as they questioned him for not doing it during the pandemic.

“I noticed a lot of the reporters aren’t wearing masks,” Trump quipped after reporters asked him why more of his White House staff were not wearing masks.

The other 14 reporters in the room also wore masks to the briefing. Earlier Friday, it was disclosed that a member of the vice president’s team tested positive for the coronavirus and on Thursday, and a valet for the president also tested positive.

“There is a member of the Vice President’s team who was exposed to coronavirus,” Kayleigh McEnaney confirmed.

Karl asked why the president did not wear a mask to the commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe at an outdoor ceremony at the memorial on Friday. The president maintained social distancing while greeting several World War II veterans.

“Did he give any consideration to wearing a mask given his valet just tested positive, he’s with some of those in the most vulnerable population, did he consider wearing masks?” Karl asked. 

“This president is regularly tested,” McEnaney replied. “This president will make the decision whether to wear a mask or not.”

McEnaney said that the White House would continue to be a safe place to work, as they continued to follow the guidelines set by the White House Coronavirus Task Force.

“I can tell you we’ve taken every single precaution to protect the president,” McEnaney said. “The same guidelines that our experts have put in place. We clean the facility. We social distance. We keep people six feet away from one another. So we’ve done every single thing that Dr. Birx and Dr. Fauci have told of us.”