While Pence made comments for the Turning Point USA group, which met this week at a convention center in West Palm Beach, thousands of attendees who were not wearing masks cheered together in a damp room with no air circulation, according to a television network pool reporter traveling with the vice president.
The Palm Beach Post reported that 2,000 people were in attendance – a limit imposed by local authorities – while footage from the summit showed many people in attendance close together, with no face covering.
The group’s leader, Charlie Kirk, on Monday posted a video of President Donald Trump calling the rally, his voice booming over the speakers while a crowded crowd listened. Kirk said on Tuesday that the event took place in person and not virtually, the pool producer said.
Pence, who heads the White House coronavirus task force, regularly calls on Americans to wear masks and take other measures to stop the spread of the coronavirus. But he didn’t mention those recommendations Tuesday, but instead presented a rosy picture of the pandemic, even as it worsens in Florida and across the country.
“We’re curing America,” Pence said to a crowd the polar reporter said had no social distance. “And all along we, like you, have defended freedom.”
Several days earlier, after receiving a COVID-19 vaccination on Friday, the vice president had implored Americans to “do your part” to slow the spread of the virus.
“Put the health of your family, your neighbors and your community first,” said Pence. “Practice good hygiene, wash your hands, practice social detachment, or wear a mask when directed, or when you are unable to exercise distance, and listen to your local authorities.”
Rather than participate virtually – if at all – Pence took Air Force Two to Florida on Tuesday morning, with assistants, Secret Service agents and members of the press in tow.
His office declined to comment on questions about his participation.
While younger people, like many of those attending the summit, were generally less likely to have the more severe symptoms of COVID-19, the virus has spread to such an extent in the United States that large numbers of younger people are still getting sick. and died. Public health experts warn they can also spread it to elderly family members, friends or other employees.
Large indoor events with little social distance or wearing a mask can become “super diffuser events,” experts have warned.
Florida does not require the use of facial covers, although Palm Beach County, where the convention takes place, does require them in “all businesses, institutions, and public areas.”
According to the COVID Tracking Project, the state is going through a wave almost as bad as the worst days of this summer, averaging more than 11,000 new cases and 100 deaths a day. Cases, hospitalizations, and deaths are all on the rise.
The mean number of daily cases in Florida is now four times higher than it was two months ago. More than 5,500 people are currently in hospital, the highest number since mid-August.
In his remaining few weeks, Pence has hosted a number of events to burn his legacy – centered on his involvement in the creation of the US Space Force, the fight against abortion rights, and leading the White House coronavirus task force.
He has taken steps to be seen as a more responsible coronavirus leader compared to President Trump, even as he continues to participate in activities that public health experts say are dangerous.
While advocating for simple health measures this fall – such as wearing a mask and washing hands – he attended busy campaign rallies in areas across the country that suffered from spikes and spoke to crowds who often wore few masks.
Pence has stood with Trump – and appeared alongside Trump, even as the president cast doubt on government scientists and ignored his own administration’s security recommendations.
Just over six months ago, the vice president wrote an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal entitled, “There is no second wave of the coronavirus.”
“I think we will have this coronavirus epidemic behind us by Memorial Day weekend,” he predicted in April.
Arielle Mitropoulos and Ben Stein of ABC News contributed to this report.