Karen Pence says Mike Pence didn't know about the Mayo Clinic's requirement that visitors wear masks, despite the clinic saying they informed him

• Vice President Mike Pence's wife, Karen Pence, claimed that her husband didn't know about the Mayo Clinic's requirement that visitors wear face masks when he toured its Minnesota headquarters on Tuesday.
• Pence's decision not to wear a mask in a room full of masked researchers and Clinic employees sparked backlash and condemnation from the employees' union.
• "It was actually after he left Mayo Clinic that he found out that they had a policy of asking everyone to wear a mask," Karen Pence told "Fox and Friends" host Ainsley Earhardt on Thursday morning.
• But the Mayo Clinic claimed in a tweet it later deleted that it "informed" the vice president about its mask requirement before his visit.
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Vice President Mike Pence's wife, Karen Pence, claimed that her husband didn't know about the Mayo Clinic's requirement that visitors wear face masks when he toured its Minnesota headquarters on Tuesday and sparked an uproar by not donning a mask.

"It was actually after he left Mayo Clinic that he found out that they had a policy of asking everyone to wear a mask," Karen Pence told "Fox and Friends" host Ainsley Earhardt on Thursday morning. "Someone who's worked on this whole task force for over two months is not someone who would have done anything to offend anyone or hurt anyone or scare anyone."

This contradicts the Mayo Clinic's claim — which it tweeted and then later deleted on Tuesday — that it "informed" Pence about its mask requirement prior to his visit.

—Tom LoBianco (@tomlobianco) April 28, 2020

The vice president defended his decision not to wear a mask on Tuesday, arguing that he's regularly tested negative for the virus.

"As vice president of the United States I'm tested for the coronavirus on a regular basis, and everyone who is around me is tested for the coronavirus," Pence said, according to NBC. "Since I don't have the coronavirus, I thought it'd be a good opportunity for me to be here, to be able to speak to these researchers these incredible healthcare personnel and look them in the eye and say thank you."

Karen Pence reiterated that argument in her Thursday interview.

"As our medical experts have told us wearing a masks prevents you from spreading the disease and knowing that he doesn't have COVID-19, he didn't wear one," she said.

The vice president's failure to adhere to the clinic's safety guidelines sparked backlash on Tuesday. Photos showed him as the only person not wearing a face-mask in a room full of masked researchers and Clinic employees.

The union that represents thousands of Clinic employees, SEIU Healthcare Minnesota, called Pence's move insulting.

"When Vice President Pence ignores the safety policy and refuses to wear a mask, he insults the hard work and sacrifice of all health care workers," they wrote in a statement. "Worse, he puts them, their patients, and their families at risk."

—Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 30, 2020

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