HOME / NEWS / HUMAN INTEREST

Jen Psaki sneezes into hand at press briefing, gets trolled for ignoring Covid protocol: 'Germ spreading disgrace'

'Jen Psaki...way to sneeze inappropriately! What happened to your elbow curve? You are a hypocrite, liar and germ spreading disgrace,' one of the users wrote

Twitter users called out the hypocrisy of mainstream media on Friday, March 26, as it stayed silent when White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki sneezed into her hand in the middle of a daily briefing, ignoring the Covid-19 protocol which advises people to sneeze or cough into elbows instead. The same media had ripped apart Texas Senator Ted Cruz just a day prior when he refused to wear a mask while addressing the press. 

During the press briefing, Psaki sneezed into her right hand in the middle of listening to a question from a reporter before quickly recovering and proceeding to turn her attention to he rest of the query. She even got a "bless you" from the reporter who was asking the question and responded with a "thank you" before continuing with the rest of the briefing. There is no way to tell whether the podium she was standing behind had a hand sanitizer at hand for her to clean her hands after the sneeze. 

READ MORE

What is Jen Psaki's net worth? WH press secretary says she is 'not familiar' with Hunter Biden's $3.5M claims

Jen Psaki grilled on $86M being spent on hotels to house migrants: 'National guardsmen had to sleep in garages'

On Thursday, March 25, during a press conference to discuss Republican Senators' upcoming visit to the Southern border, Cruz refused to wear a mask after a reporter asked him to put one on. As the Texas senator approached the podium maskless, his colleagues, all of whom appear to be wearing masks, follow him. "Do you mind putting a mask on for us?" an off-camera reporter asked to which he answered, "Yeah, when I'm talking to the TV camera, I'm not going to wear a mask. All of us have been immunized."

When the reporter says it would make the press personnel feel better if Cruz wore a mask, the senator replied: "You're welcome to step away, if you'd like. The whole point of the vaccine. CDC guidance is what we're following." This made national headlines for the day. So it was surprising for many of the Twitter users when Psaki's sneeze was not met with the same level of outrage from the media. 

"Jen Psaki...way to sneeze inappropriately! What happened to your elbow curve? You are a hypocrite, liar and germ spreading disgrace," one of the users, while another said, "Oof. A real bad look for reporters. Ted Cruz gets blasted by reporters for addressing without a mask. Jen Psaki sneezes into her hand and proceeds to touch the podium and gets a 'bless you'." A third noted, "And #JenPsaki combined the sneeze with NOT answering yet another question."

The next commented, "Dear Jen Psaki@PressSec- This is NOT how to sneeze, ESPECIALLY during a pandemic. Please learn the CORRECT method of covering your mouth when coughing g sneezing. Biden's administration is supposed to be the shining example of stopping COVID-19!" One more added, "I'm old enough to remember Dems telling a vaccinated Ted Cruz to put a mask on just to make them feel better." Another said, "Super Spreader #JenPsaki Sneezes Mid-Press Briefing, Ignoring Protocol."

A commenter tweeted, "Jen Psaki need to learn how to sneeze into her arm." One more wrote, "Its 2021, who sneezes into their hand? I learned when i was probably 4-5 years old to sneeze into my elbow so i dont spit all over my hand then touch a desk or a pen and spread germs all over the place. Jen Psaki just spread potential covid cooties all over the press room." Another quipped, "Someone needs a little refresher on the fine art of the #DraculaSneeze Anytime you cough or sneeze, always use your elbow, please #JenPsaki #WashYourHands" 

A person reacted with, "If President trump would have sneezed and not covered his mouth, the media would have screamed, "WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!!!" Instead, Media silence." One more said, "Ted Cruz is asked to put on a mask after being vaccinated but nothing is said about THIS." Another wrote, "It would make me feel a lot more comfortable for those reporters lives if she would wear a darn mask!!!!"