On anti-handwashing guy's show, Noem says wash your hands to defeat airborne COVID

Much is being made of South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem's advice on Fox News that the key to beating COVID is to wash one's hands.

We believe Raw Story catches the moment in WATCH: Kristi Noem tells germ-denier Pete Hegseth that people really should wash their hands by pointing out Pete Hegseth, the Forest Lake MN native who sought the 2012 Republican endorsement for the U.S. Senate seat against incumbent Amy Klobuchar.

Raw Story's Bob Brigham reports:

Fox News personality Pete Hegseth was taught the importance of washing hands during an interview with South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem.

Hegseth, who has degrees from Princeton and Harvard, has notoriously argued against hand washing.

“I don’t think I’ve washed my hands for 10 years,” Hegseth said on-air in 2019. “Really. I don’t really wash my hands ever. I inoculate myself. Germs are not a real thing. I can’t see them, therefore they’re not real.”

On Wednesday, Noem praised hand washing as an alternative to vaccines.

"Still Pete, the number one thing that people can do to slow down the spread of a virus -- go wash your hands," she claimed, despite vaccines actually occupying the top of the list.

"Go wash your hands. I'm shocked by the amount of time that I have to go remind people of that," she said, as Hegseth appeared to roll his eyes.

In a tweet, Aaron Rupar captured the video of the moment:"

Kristi Noem: "The number one thing that people can do to slow down the spread of a virus -- go wash your hands." (Getting vaccinated and masking will do more to protect you from an airborne virus than washing your hands.)

(Also note Pete Hegseth's reaction to this comment) pic.twitter.com/MmlQto7Uw6

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) December 30, 2021

Nincompoopery doesn't get much more Mel Brookesque than this. Pandemic or not, it's a good practice to wash one's hands, though stopping an airborne virus might be better affected through other means.

Meanwhile in South Dakota, the Sioux Falls Argus Leader reports Avera is ‘at or near capacity,’ Sanford has 'high demand' as COVID surges in South Dakota.

Photo: We'd shake Governor Kristi Noem's hand, especially if she were wearing those oddly spotless gloves. Hegseth? Pandemic or not, we're not getting near this one.

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