Vice President Mike Pence visited healthcare workers and patients at the Mayo Clinic on Tuesday, and unlike all of the professionals in the building, Pence refused to wear a protective face mask. In photos of the event, Pence can be seen within arms’ length of people lying in hospital beds, surrounded by healthcare workers in masks and other protective gear. But not Pence. And his excuse for not wearing a mask was about as stupid as you would expect. Ring of Fire’s Farron Cousins discusses this.

Farron Cousins is the executive editor of The Trial Lawyer magazine and a contributing writer at DeSmogBlog.com. He is the co-host / guest host for Ring of Fire Radio. His writings have appeared on Alternet, Truthout, and The Huffington Post. Farron received his bachelor's degree in Political Science from the University of West Florida in 2005 and became a member of American MENSA in 2009. Follow him on Twitter @farronbalanced