President Biden spent some 30 seconds looking for his face mask during an appearance in Georgia despite the fact that he has been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
'Looking for my mask, I'm in trouble,' the president said as he searched the podium in Duluth, delaying his departure. It was the second time this week that Biden said he was 'gonna be in trouble.'
Biden was in the Peach State on Thursday to mark his 100th day in office and to tout his $4trillion infrastructure proposal designed to fix the country’s crumbling highways and bridges.
After he delivered his speech, he was joined on stage by the two Democratic senators from the state - Reverend Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff.
But the president was seen fumbling through his binder full of notes as he appeared to have misplaced his mask.
President Biden spent some 30 seconds looking for his face mask during an appearance in Duluth, Georgia on Thursday despite the fact that he has been fully vaccinated against COVID-19
'Looking for my mask, I'm in trouble,' the president said as he searched the podium in Duluth, delaying his departure. It was the second time this week that Biden said he was 'gonna be in trouble.'
Biden got some help from his wife, First Lady Jill Biden, who leafed through the binder but was unable to locate the elusive face covering
'Looking for my mask, I'm in trouble,' the president said jokingly
Biden was in the Peach State on Thursday to mark his 100th day in office and to tout his $4trillion infrastructure proposal designed to fix the country’s crumbling highways and bridges.
Biden got some help from his wife, First Lady Jill Biden, who leafed through the binder but was unable to locate the elusive face covering.
Finally, an aide walked up to the stage and handed the president the mask, much to his delight as he held it aloft.
Although Biden has been fully vaccinated, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still advises those who have gotten the shot to keep wearing masks if they attend an outdoor event with crowds of people, like concerts or sporting events.
His dogged insistence on continuing to wear a mask in obviously safe settings has sparked controversy, with critics claiming Biden's behavior is pointless, and could even undermine faith in COVID-19 vaccines.
The president - who completed his two-dose Pfizer COVID vaccine in January - says he is sticking with mask wearing America's huge vaccination drive continues, in a bid to set a good example.
On Tuesday, Biden spoke of his support for updated CDC guidance saying fully vaccinated Americans no longer need to wear masks while in well-spaced outdoor areas.
He also conceded that it would take time to get used to not having to wear one while outside.
During the same press conference, Biden cut short remarks to reporters outside the White House because he said answering more questions would have gotten him into ‘trouble’ - reigniting suspicions his handlers are shielding him from the press.
President Biden cut short remarks to reporters outside the White House on Tuesday because he said answering more questions would have gotten him into ‘trouble’ - reigniting suspicions his handlers are shielding him from the press
Biden gave a brief address on the North Lawn on Tuesday announcing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s updated guidance on mask wearing
After Biden’s remarks, the assembled group of White House correspondents started shouting questions at the president. Biden answered one question about the need for people to vaccinate so they can take off their masks outdoors
Finally, the president was asked a question about the crisis in India, where hundreds of thousands of newly diagnosed coronavirus infections are being reported every day. 'I'm sorry,' he said. 'This is the last question I'll take, and I'm really gonna be in trouble.'
Biden, 78, gave a brief address on the North Lawn on Tuesday announcing the CDC's updated guidance on mask wearing.
After Biden’s remarks, the assembled group of White House correspondents started shouting questions at the president.
Biden answered one question about the need for people to vaccinate so they can take off their masks outdoors.
He also told another reporter that he wore a mask to the news conference outside so that ‘you [can] watch me take it off and I will put it back on when I get inside.’
When another reporter asked if he had any preconditions before meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Biden responded: ‘I will discuss that another day.’
Finally, the president was asked a question about the crisis in India, where hundreds of thousands of newly diagnosed coronavirus infections are being reported every day.
'I'm sorry,' he said.
'This is the last question I'll take, and I'm really gonna be in trouble.'
The president and the first lady are seen above disembarking Marine One after arriving on the Ellipse near the White House late on Thursday
The Bidens are seen above walking back to the White House after their trip to Georgia on Thursday
It wasn’t clear what Biden meant by being ‘in trouble.’
He then offered a lengthy explanation of his plans to help the COVID-ravaged nation, including sending supplies of anti-viral drug Remdesivir, and helping boost India's vaccine availability.
On Twitter, critics of the president mocked him. Biden’s opponents in conservative media have denigrated the president as a ‘puppet’ of his staffers.
The president’s panic at losing his mask on Thursday comes amid criticism of the administration and Democrats over guidance on masks and social distancing even for those who have been inoculated against COVID-19.
Earlier this week, the CDC eased its guidelines on the wearing of masks outdoors, saying fully vaccinated Americans don’t need to cover their faces anymore unless they are in a big crowd of strangers.
And those who are unvaccinated can go outside without masks in some situations, too.
The new guidance represents another carefully calibrated step on the road back to normal from the coronavirus outbreak that has killed over 570,000 people in the United States.
For most of the past year, the CDC had been advising Americans to wear masks outdoors if they are within 6 feet of one another.
The change comes as more than half of US adults - or about 140 million people - have received at least one dose of vaccine, and more than a third have been fully vaccinated.
The CDC, which has been cautious in its guidance during the crisis, essentially endorsed what many Americans have already been doing over the past several weeks.
President Joe Biden was interrupted by protesters at the first rally he held during his presidency, marking his 100th day in office
Protesters interrupted President Joe Biden at Thursday night's rally in Duluth. They held up a banner that said 'Communities Not Cages'
First lady Jill Biden (left) and President Joe Biden (right) held hands as they walked onstage at a rally in the parking lot of the Infinite Energy Center in Duluth, outside Atlanta
The CDC says that whether they are fully vaccinated or not, people do not have to wear masks outdoors when they walk, bike or run alone or with members of their household. They can also go maskless in small outdoor gatherings with fully vaccinated people.
But unvaccinated people - defined as those who have yet to receive both doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or the one-shot Johnson & Johnson formula - should wear masks at small outdoor gatherings that include other unvaccinated people, the CDC says.
They also should keep their faces covered when dining at outdoor restaurants with friends from multiple households.
And everyone, fully vaccinated or not, should keep wearing masks at crowded outdoor events such as concerts or sporting events, the CDC says.
The agency continues to recommend masks at indoor public places, such as hair salons, restaurants, shopping centers, gyms, museums and movie theaters, saying that is still the safer course even for vaccinated people.
Earlier in his speech on Thursday, Biden was interrupted by pro-immigration protesters.
Biden, who had just been introduced by the first lady, was shouted down by a small group asking him to 'abolish ICE' and get detainees out of private prisons.
'I agree with you, I’m working on it, man, give me another five days,' Biden said, trying to de-escalate the situation.
'Folks, you all know what they’re talking about. There should be no private prisons period. Private detention centers. They should not exist. And we’re working to close all of them.'
They held up a neon orange banner - and had it pointed toward the audience, not the president - that said 'communities not cages.'
One protester continued to shout that 'our families are dying.'
'We voted for you too,' a protester said.
'I promise you,' the president pledged.
Biden signed an early executive order phasing out the Department of Justice's use of private prisons - but that order never extended to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
President Joe Biden speaks at a drive-in style rally in Duluth, Georgia Thursday night. The White House said around 315 cars were in the audience
Supporters of President Joe Biden held signs that said '100 Days' and 'Kindness Wins'
Biden has said in the past that he doesn't support the leftwing part of the Democratic Party's call to 'abolish ICE.'
When running for president in the 2020 cycle, Biden was sporadically interrupted on the campaign trail over Obama-era deportations.
Biden chose a Georgia trip to celebrate his 100th day because the state had delivered for him thrice: once in the November presidential election, swinging it blue for the first time since 1992. And then a second and third time on January 5, with the election of Democratic Sens. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff in two run-off races.
Both Ossoff and Warnock joined Biden onstage at the end of the rally.
At that moment, Biden also briefly lost his mask.
'Looking for my mask, I'm in trouble,' the president said as he searched the podium, delaying his departure.
At the rally, Biden repeated many of the points he made during Wednesday night's address before Congress. During a president's first year in office the address isn't called the State of the Union.
Biden is trying to sell his American Families Plan and American Jobs Plan that will account for $4.1trillion in spending over the next 10 years, which hasn't yet been approved by Congress.
Thursday night's drive-in rally - set up like a drive-in movie theater format to enforce social distancing - may be one of the last of its kind, as more and more Americans are vaccinated against COVID-19.
Biden and the Democrats used drive-in type rallies as a way to pump up the base in the months leading up to the November election, as Trump continued to pack unmasked thousands into his rallies.
The White House said about 315 cars were in the audience.
Earlier in the day, the Bidens met with 96-year-old former President Jimmy Carter and his 93-year-old wife, Rosalynn, during their first stop in the Peach State.
Jill Biden spoke of meeting with the Carters during her introduction.
Former President Jimmy Carter (left) and former first lady Rosalynn Carter (right) are fully vaccinated and hosted President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden in Plains, Georgia on Thursday
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden are in Georgia Thursday - with their first stop a trip to see Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter
The Beast, the president's limo, is seen in the driveway of Jimmy and Rosalynn Carters' residence in Plains, Georgia on Thursday
President Joe Biden leaves a meeting with the Carters with Rosalynn Carter (left) watching from the front porch of the couple's Plains, Georgia home
First lady Jill Biden (left) and President Joe Biden (right) leave their meeting at Jimmy and Rosalynn (center) Carters' house. The former president didn't step outside, but his wife did
'And they are such a powerful reminder that serving our country isn't limited to the office you hold,' the first lady said. 'The Carters continue their work making our country stronger every day and we are grateful and honored for their friendship.'
Rosalynn Carter, 93, using a walker and wearing a white shirt, poked her head out and watched the Bidens leave from the front porch of her Plains, Georgia residence.
Her husband, the former president, stayed inside.
The couple have been living living in the two-bedroom rancher the president built himself since before he entered the White House.
In 2018 it was valued at $167,000 - less than the value of the Secret Service armored cars outside, The Washington Post reported.
On Air Force One, deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre explained that the visit wasn't because Jimmy Carter was in poor health.
'They had said on that call they would try to connect after inauguration,' she said, explaining that Biden and Carter had spoke by phone on the eve of Biden's swearing-in. 'And since they were going to Georgia they wanted to stop by and say hello.'
She also said the visit was unrelated to the recent death of Carter's vice president, Walter Mondale, who was also a close friend of Biden's.
'No, this is just, as I said, a longstanding friendship - they said they were going to try and see each other after inauguration,'
The Carters had to miss Biden's January inauguration due to COVID-19 concerns for people of their age.
Jean-Pierre also shared that Biden was the first U.S. senator to endorse Carter when the then former governor decided to run for president, winning the White House in 1976.
'So they have a longstanding relationship that goes back decades,' she said.
Both the Bidens and the Carters have been vaccinated for COVID-19.
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A private security guard stands outside an empty vaccination centre after Mumbai’s municipal body issued a notice about no vaccinations for three days [Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters]
Indian ground staff unload coronavirus relief supplies from the US at the Indira Gandhi International Airport cargo terminal in New Delhi [Prakash Singh/Reuters]
