Despite being the subject of criticism for not mentioning mask guidelines at the last Coronavirus briefing, Vice President Mike Pence said today he was more in favor of mask wearing than people think.

“I’ll have you know I was wearing masks long before this pandemic came along.”

He acknowledged the concerns of many of the President’s supporters, who worry wearing a mask may cause them to struggle to breathe. In such cases he said they should remove it temporarily to get relief.

“Or just use your safeword so your buddy knows to remove it for you.”

He added that rumors circulating that cloth masks cause you to inhale your own carbon dioxide were without any medical or scientific basis.

“That only becomes an issue if the mask is made of a non-breathable material like glossy black PVC, or if there’s a hard spherical object in your mouth.”

Pence explained that any lightheadedness people felt when putting on a mask was probably not due to it cutting off the oxygen supply.

“It’s more likely that your heartrate is rising as you think about the last activity that required you to sport one.”