Virginia Gov. Apologizes For Not Wearing a Face Mask During Photo-Op: 'My Mask Was In the Car'

Brittany M. Hughes | May 26, 2020
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After catching flak for not wearing a face mask while posing for some outdoor photos with a few residents in Virginia Beach last weekend – after “encouraging” and even threatening to mandate face masks in public for everyone else – Virginia Gov. Ralph “Blackface” Northam has apologized, excusing his COVID-spewing ways by saying his “mask was in the car.”

“I visited the oceanfront with the intention of speaking to the mayor, thanking first responders and ambassadors and seeing how the reopening plan was working. I also planned to take a few questions from the press. On my way to talk with the reporters some well-wishers came up to me and asked to take pictures,” Northam told reporters Tuesday.

“I was not prepared because my mask was in the car. I take full responsibility for that. People held me accountable. And I appreciate that,” he continued. “In the future, when I'm out in the public, I will be better prepared. We're all forming new habits and routines and we're all adjusting to this new normal.”

If Northam does eventually lay down a public face mask rule, one can only wonder whether the old "it was in my car" excuse will hold up for any other Virginia resident who didn't comply with the order.

Northam’s little mask slip comes after he’s spent weeks urging other Virginia residents to wear face masks when in public to stop the spread of the coronavirus. But apparently, the deadly illness that’s caused Northam to shut down businesses across the state, wreaking havoc on the local economy and forcing millions onto unemployment, isn’t quite deadly enough to keep him from holding a photo-op with a couple fans. 

Which, frankly, is a bit strange given Northam's longstanding love of wearing face masks.

 

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