Vice President Mike Pence is joined on stage by his wife Karen Pence after the conclusion of the 2020 vice presidential campaign debate held on the campus of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S., October 7, 2020.
Vice President Mike Pence is joined on stage by his wife Karen Pence after the conclusion of the 2020 vice presidential campaign debate held on the campus of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S., October 7, 2020.
Lucy Nicholson/Reuters
  • Second lady Karen Pence didn’t wear a face mask when she joined her husband on stage after Wednesday night’s debate, breaking the safety rules set by the Commission on Presidential Debates.
  • All attendees, except for the vice president, Democratic nominee Sen. Kamala Harris, and the debate moderator, were required to wear face coverings at all times. 
  • The Trump family similarly disregarded the coronavirus-related guidelines during last week’s presidential debate and refused to wear their masks as they watched the event in the indoor venue. 
  • President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, and over a dozen White House aides have since tested positive for COVID-19.
  • Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

Second lady Karen Pence didn’t wear a face mask when she joined her husband, Vice President Mike Pence, on stage after Wednesday night’s debate, violating safety rules established by the Commission on Presidential Debates.

Everyone in the debate venue — aside from the vice president, Democratic nominee Sen. Kamala Harris, and debate moderator Susan Page — was required to wear a face mask at all times on Wednesday night. The Commission implemented stricter safety rules, including requiring all attendees to undergo coronavirus testing and erecting plexiglass barriers between the candidates on stage, amid a COVID-19 outbreak at the White House. 

By contrast, Harris’ husband, Douglas Emhoff, wore a mask when he joined Harris on stage to wave to the crowd. 

Trump’s debate guests, mostly family members, refused to wear masks during last week’s indoor, 90-minute presidential debate, provoking uproar. Days later, the president, First Lady Melania Trump, and more than a dozen White House aides were diagnosed with COVID-19. 

“The first family came in wearing masks, but they took them off. The rules said you had to wear a mask,” Frank Fahrenkopf, head of the Commission, told The Washington Post last week. “Everyone in that hall was supposed to keep the mask on, other than the president, Biden and Chris Wallace.”

A Cleveland Clinic doctor offered Trump's guests masks, but they "waved them away," debate moderator Chris Wallace said. 

 

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