Tom Mountain at the White House Hanukkah event on Dec. 9, 2020. (Courtesy Tom Mountain) Tom Mountain, vice chair of the Massachusetts Republican Party, once scoffed at the virus and at those who wore masks. That is, until he contracted the disease himself — most likely at a White House Hanukkah party held on Dec. 9. WBUR sat down with Mountain to hear his story. Interview Highlights Mountain on the White House event where he probably caught the virus: "As vice chair of the Massachusetts Republican Party and the vice chair of the Massachusetts Republican Jewish Committee, I annually go to the White House Hanukkah event. ... And lo and behold, I left that Hanukkah event that evening, seven nights and three days later, I was in the emergency room and I was in very rough shape.