Nancy Pelosi loses her patience over Kevin McCarthy's anti-masker claims: 'He's such a moron'

With the Delta variant of the COVID-19 coronavirus surging in the United States — especially in red states with large numbers of unvaccinated Americans — Capitol physician Brian Monahan is reinstituting a mask mandate for the U.S. House of Representatives. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is honoring that mandate, but House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, pandering to the GOP's MAGA base, is opposed. And when Speaker Nancy Pelosi was asked about McCarthy's opposition, she had some scathing words for the California congressman.

In Washington, D.C. on July 28, reporters asked Pelosi about the mask requirement as she was getting ready to enter an SUV. Pelosi told reporters, "That's the purview of the Capitol physician.... the mandate from him. I have nothing to say about that except we honor it."

NBC News reporter Frank Thorp told Pelosi, "Leader McCarthy says it's against the science" — and before getting into the vehicle, a frustrated Pelosi responded, "He's such a moron."

On July 27, McCarthy had tweeted, "Make no mistake — The threat of bringing masks back is not a decision based on science, but a decision conjured up by liberal government officials who want to continue to live in a perpetual pandemic state."