President Joe Biden coughed into his hand and proceeded to shake hands with those in attendance shortly after a speech regarding his various budgetary proposals.
Biden promoted his Build Back Better agenda at the NJ Transit Meadowlands Maintenance Complex in Kearney, New Jersey, in the context of major negotiations between moderate Democrats and the left flank of the Democratic Party on the spending bill, CNN reported.
Biden, maskless during and after his remarks in New Jersey, coughed and shook hands with the same hand he had coughed into.
He reiterated his urge to endorse a bipartisan infrastructure package ahead of a week where Congress will deliberate his multi-trillion dollar agenda.
Biden has been keen on promoting mask-wearing, regardless of vaccination status, as Americans become increasingly divided on the latest COVID-19 measures taken by the Biden administration, such as vaccine mandates, according to The Associated Press. (RELATED: Big Tech Companies Are Defying Texas’ Vaccine Mandate Ban)
Biden also visited an elementary school in Plainfield, New Jersey, in an attempt to pitch parts of his plan before returning to the White House, according to Reuters.