The White House is coming to President Joe Biden’s defense after a video appeared to show him and First Lady Jill Biden violating an indoor mask mandate.
The video shows Biden and the first lady walking through a restaurant in Washington, D.C. without masks on.
WATCH: Joe Biden walks through an expensive Washington, D.C. restaurant without a mask, violating D.C.'s mask mandate. pic.twitter.com/lZDDFbhjZT
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) October 17, 2021
The restaurant, Fiola Mare, outlines its mask policy on its website.
“Per CDC guidance and DC Mayor Muriel Bowser’s executive order, all individuals over age 2 are required to wear a mask indoors, regardless of vaccination status. Masks must be always worn while in our restaurants, except while eating and drinking. Thank you for understanding,” the website says.
In July, Washington, D.C.’s Mayor Muriel Bowser reinstated the indoor mask mandate.
According to the guidelines, everyone, including fully vaccinated individuals, must wear masks in indoor public settings.
“This includes any business or establishment open to members of the public (including but not limited to: grocery stores, restaurants and bars (when not eating or drinking), places of worship, gyms, office buildings, libraries, indoor entertainment venues, and common areas of apartment or condominium complexes),” the guidelines say.
During a White House press briefing on Monday, Psaki was asked about the incident.
“I think what you’re referring to is a photo of them walking out of a restaurant after they had eaten, masks in hand, where they had not yet put them back on yet. So I would say, of course, there are moments when we all don’t put masks back on as quickly as we should but I don’t think we should…lose the forest through the trees here,” Psaki explained.
Watch part of the press briefing below:
Jen Psaki defends Joe Biden violating the DC mask mandate:
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) October 18, 2021
"There are moments when we all don't put masks back on as quickly as we should."
She says that it's important to "not overly focus on moments in time that don't reflect overarching policy." pic.twitter.com/wE86fhxint
She added, “Our objective here is to get more people vaccinated, make sure that schools and companies around the country can put in place requirements to save more lives and keep people safer and not overly focus on moments in time that don’t reflect overarching policy.”