President Joe Biden lectured a Texas Congressman Tuesday for telling the president “kiss my ass” in response to his call for all Americans to wear a mask during the coronavirus pandemic.
At a speech at the White House, Biden recalled when Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) told him to “kiss my ass” when he announced his promise to implement a federal mask mandate in December. In fact, Roy responded to Biden’s promise to impose a mask mandate with a tweet:
Nevertheless, Biden said, “One congressman pointed out I could, he used a very colorful term to say, wearing a mask, I tell him to ‘Kiss my ear.’ I’m not going to wear a mask,” Biden said, editing the tweet.
“Well, guess what, not very American,” Biden continued after citing the comment. “The fact is, you want to be patriotic. You want to protect people.”
Biden warned of the news of additional strains of the virus such as the British strain, the Brazilian strain, and the South African strain that were more transmittable.
He also urged Americans, without specifying enforcement mechanisms, to test before they traveled to the United States.
“We need to test before they get on a plane, and self-quarantine when they get to America,” he said.
He urged Americans to keep wearing masks and socially distancing as they continued to fight the virus.
“Things are going to continue to get worse before they get better,” he said, adding, “We didn’t get into this mess overnight. And it’s going to take months for us to turn things around.”