CNN’s John Berman Defends DC Mayor Bowser for Going Mask-Free at Wedding: ‘It’s Hard’ to ‘Remember What We’re Supposed to be Angry About’

CNN’s John Berman defended Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) on Monday after she was photographed without a mask at a wedding over the weekend.

Bowser announced on Thursday she was imposing a new face mask mandate in the District of Columbia, which became effective at 5 a.m. Saturday. Bowser was photographed mask-free at an indoor wedding bash on Friday evening at The Line DC, a four-star hotel.

Berman, arguing that Bowser didn’t technically violate her mandate, said it was “hard” for him to remember “what we’re supposed to be angry about.”

“Here is the thing, right — she wasn’t actually as far as we know violating the new rules, correct?” Berman said in a segment with colleague Briana Keilar.

“I think that is fair to say, but I think it might also be about, is she violating the spirit of it?” Keilar replied.

Berman appeared to suggest that Bowser took off the mask to satisfy her critics.

“It’s hard for me to remember what we’re all supposed to be angry about, because it wasn’t that long ago that we were all criticizing politicians for wearing masks still where the science was telling them, oh, they didn’t need to be,” Berman said. “We kept on asking the White House, why is Joe Biden still wearing the mask when the mask guidance has changed? And now of course, we’re saying she should be wearing a mask even though she was still following the guidance.”

Bowser’s office responded to the photograph in a Monday statement, though it did not directly address the fact that she was featured maskless. “The mask mandate is for indoor settings (excluding while eating and drinking) and does not apply to outdoor settings,” the statement said. “The mayor wore a mask indoors in compliance with the mandate.”

Watch above via CNN.