ABC's Jonathan Karl slammed as 'hypocrite' for taking off mask at White House press event

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Trump touts Dow hitting 30K, congratulates administration staffers in brief appearance

President Donald Trump outs Dow hitting 30K, congratulates administration staffers at a press conference.

ABC News chief White House correspondent Jonathan Karl faced intense backlash Tuesday after he was caught taking off his mask following President Trump's White House statement.

Trump briefly spoke from the briefing room podium to tout the Dow Jones Industrial Average passing the 30,000-point mark, for which he credited encouraging coronavirus vaccine developments brought about by Operation Warp Speed.

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Moments after the president wrapped up his brief statement and left the room, Karl was seen taking off his mask while chatting with colleagues. 

Karl has been quick to shame those who have not worn masks on White House grounds. In September, the ABC News correspondent suggested that reporting from an indoor Trump rally during the pandemic is as dangerous or more dangerous for reporters and their families than covering a war.

“This is not like embedding with the Marines in Fallujah," Karl told National Journal. It is like you are taking your family with you to Fallujah." 

Critics piled on the reporter over what they deemed to be hypocritical behavior. 

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"It's all for show," Townhall senior writer Julio Rosas reacted alongside a tweet of Karl's past mask shaming.

"Hypocrite," said "Louder with Crowder" host Steven Crowder. 

"Wear a mask @jonkarl," conservative commentator Stephen Miller scolded the reporter. 

ABC News did not immediately respond to Fox News' request for comment. 

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Karl wasn't the only one who was caught pulling off their mask in the briefing room. CNN correspondent Kaitlin Collins, whose network frequently has shamed the Trump administration and Trump campaign for not abiding by CDC guidelines at various events, was also under fire for taking off her mask when she thought the cameras were off.

Several prominent Democrats have been criticized in recent weeks for hypocritical behavior amid the pandemic including California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot.