WASHINGTON, DC – In a teleconference meeting today with Vice President Kamala Harris, and Brittany Hayes, a nurse from Arizona State University who is heading the COVID-19 vaccination pod at State Farm Stadium, President Joe Biden asked the nine-year veteran, “Are you a freshman?”
Fact Check: Read the official White House transcript of the encounter here.
Nurse Hayes detailed the vaccination process being used at State Farm Stadium for the President and the Vice President, saying, “I have 10 lanes here at the vaccination pod. I have three people in charge of each lane. I have a data verification person; they are in charge of entering and charting in the vaccine management system.”
Hayes continued to brief the president about the process for patients coming in by cars, being vaccinated and assessing patients, focusing on personal and health safety.
THE PRESIDENT: Are you a freshman at the university? (Laughs.)
MS. HAYES: No. No. (Laughter.) No.
THE PRESIDENT: You look like a freshman.
MS. HAYES: Why, thank you.
Later the President circled back.
THE PRESIDENT: And you’re a — are you a nurse?
MS. HAYES: I am. I’m a nurse. I’m an RN. I’ve been an RN for about nine years now.
It appeared Biden was trying to pass the nurse a harmless compliment, but many critics of the President seized the opportunity to mock him for his comment.
Cringe https://t.co/k88uRYXsPC
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) February 8, 2021