John Kerry Faces Backlash for Photo of Him Not Wearing Mask on Plane — He Responds

A photo of U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry is circulating on social media of him reading a book aboard a plane and appearing to not wear his mask at that moment.

A reporter for the Tennessee Star, a conservative outlet, posted a photo of Kerry in first-class reading a book while not wearing a mask — seemingly breaking the mandate that masks must be worn, as the U.S. combats the coronavirus pandemic. Instead, the mask is seen hanging from one of Kerry’s ears.

A passenger told Fox News, who confirmed the passenger was on the same flight, said Kerry wore his mask to board the plane but took it off shortly after. It was a mostly full flight, the passenger said.

The passenger also said Kerry later put on his mask on and wore it for most of the flight, Fox News reports.

It is a U.S. federal law that people traveling on an airplane must wear a face mask “from the time you enter the airport where your trip begins, on board your flight, and until you leave the airport where your trip ends,” as American Airlines writes on its website.

The airline continues, “If you refuse to wear one, you may be denied boarding and future travel on American. You may also face penalties under federal law.” It is only allowed to remove one’s mask briefly while “actively eating, drinking or taking oral medication, but it must be worn between bites and sips.”

American Airlines was asked to clarify their policy in response to the photo of Kerry, to which it said, “Masks are required on board our aircraft, and we are looking into this.”

https://twitter.com/RichardGrenell/status/1372281099615801344

Additionally, the passenger from Kerry’s flight told Fox News, “I salute our Very Special Presidential Envoy for Climate for not flying private, but instead flying first class commercial with the rest of us common folk. And while he can’t bring himself to follow his own party’s mask restrictions, we should cut him some slack,” adding, “Being an elite hypocrite is hard work!”

Kerry pushed back as he sought to clarify the photo. He suggested it was “momentary” that the mask was off.

“Feels like there’s some St. Patrick’s day ‘malarkey’ afoot on Twitter,” Kerry responded on Twitter.

He continued, “Let’s be clear: If I dropped my mask to one ear on a flight, it was momentary. I wear my mask because it saves lives and stops the spread. It’s what the science tells us to do.”

A spokesperson for American Airlines also told Fox News, “The crew did not observe Secretary Kerry without a mask, and they were not alerted by other customers to a non-compliance issue. We continue to review the matter and we are reaching out to Secretary Kerry to underscore that all customers are expected to wear masks for the duration of their trip.”