In the immediate aftermath of the breaking news about President Joe Biden’s COVID diagnosis, Republicans and Democrats alike all wished the POTUS a speedy recovery. After all, though we have big political differences, those differences should – ideally – take second place, at least momentarily, when someone falls ill.

But as recent history has shown us, that rule doesn’t always apply when the sides are reversed, and that has been doubly true whenever anti-mask mandate Republicans were diagnosed with COVID and/or were then pictured going about their business without wearing masks, after which it was declared in so many words that they were “putting lives at risk.”

Which brings me back to Joe Biden. In a statement issued earlier announcing Biden had COVID, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre noted that the President “will isolate at the White House and will continue to carry out all of his duties fully during that time.”

Indeed, Biden appears to be “carrying out” some “duties” in the photo below (which Fox News reporter Jacqui Heinrich confirmed was taken today). But it’s what Biden isn’t doing that has raised questions:

Folks, I'm doing great. Thanks for your concern. Just called Senator Casey, Congressman Cartwright, and Mayor Cognetti (and my Scranton cousins!) to send my regrets for missing our event today.

Keeping busy! pic.twitter.com/uf7AsOg571

— President Biden (@POTUS) July 21, 2022

Though thankfully he is reportedly only experiencing “mild symptoms,” he still has COVID. So, like, where is his mask?

According to the CDC, if you’re diagnosed with COVID you should not only isolate but you should also wear a mask while you’re indoors and especially if you’re going to be around other people:

IF YOU Tested positive for COVID-19 or have symptoms, regardless of vaccination status:

Stay home for at least 5 days
Stay home for 5 days and isolate from others in your home.
Wear a well-fitting mask if you must be around others in your home.

[…]

Take precautions until day 10

Wear a well-fitting mask
Wear a well-fitting mask for 10 full days any time you are around others inside your home or in public. Do not go to places where you are unable to wear a mask.

Clearly, Biden is breaking his own CDC’s guidelines here as he was around at least one person – the photographer. But who else was in the room? Were any of his handlers there?

Meanwhile, First Lady Jill Biden – who says she tested negative today – did follow CDC guidelines by wearing a mask outside in Detroit while she was surrounded by reporters and talked about how Joe Biden was doing:

First Lady Jill Biden on President Biden testing positive for COVID-19:

“He’s doing fine, he’s feeling good. I tested negative this morning.” pic.twitter.com/QHc7Y2Tv0D

— The Recount (@therecount) July 21, 2022

No word yet on whether a “breakfast taco” was among the reporters questioning Jill Biden, but we’ll keep you posted when and if we find out.

But back to the picture of Joe Biden, in addition to wondering who all was in the room with him as he sat maskless and stared at a telephone, another question was also raised after a closer inspection of the photo appeared to show nothing written on the notepad in front of him:

Doing what, exactly? https://t.co/VwxCj4zs3y pic.twitter.com/J9LT7vMu6T

— 𝓐𝓵𝓵𝓮𝓷 𝓡𝓪𝔂 (@2CynicAl65) July 21, 2022

Be afraid, be very afraid.

In any event, as always with Democrats, the “rules for thee but not for me” double standard is in full effect, which we saw when Joe Biden took office and immediately violated his own executive order on masks, during his climate change speech Wednesday and then earlier today.

And yet they keep wondering why so many people have abandoned looking to government “health experts” for guidance on how to navigate around COVID. If they’d look in a mirror sometime, maybe they’d finally figure out why.

Flashback: Joe Biden Embarrasses Himself and Undermines CDC During Visit With Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter