Fox News White House reporter John Roberts slams 'petty' ABC News colleague Jonathan Karl for trying to 'shame' him for not wearing a mask in the Rose Garden before Trump's press conference

A Twitter feud erupted between two White House news correspondents after one of them accused the other of 'shaming' him for not wearing a face covering during President Trump's news briefing on Monday.

John Roberts of Fox News was photographed by his ABC News colleague Jonathan Karl while sitting in his chair in the White House Rose Garden moments before Trump took to the podium.

While the other reporters pictured were wearing face coverings, Roberts was not, as Karl pointed out.

ABC News White House correspondent Jonathan Karl posted a tweet on Monday saying that 'almost everybody' in the White House Rose Garden was wearing a mask

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Karl then attached a photo showing a group of reporters seated on the lawn. One of them, John Roberts of Fox News, is seen right without a mask

Roberts replied on Twitter that he felt Karl was 'shaming' him and that he was being 'petty'

'Almost everybody in the Rose Garden is wearing a mask - almost everybody,' the ABC News journalist tweeted on Monday.

Karl then posted four pictures showing journalists and White House aides wearing face coverings both before and during the news conference.

Roberts, however, was conspicuously without one as he sat and looked over his notes before the president took questions.

The Fox News correspondent than tweeted a response to Karl, writing: 'What, exactly is the basis for this petty effort at shaming???'

Roberts noted that he was 'more than 6ft away from the closest person' and that 'when the press conference gan, I put mask on.'

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Moments after that picture was taken, Roberts and Karl were both seen wearing masks

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Karl later told The Hill that his intent was not to shame anyone. He posted the photos to show the 'extraordinary scene' of 'just about everybody wearing a mask in the Rose Garden'

Photos from the news conference show Roberts wearing a mask as he stepped up to the microphone to ask Trump a question.

Karl told The Hill that he never intended to shame Roberts.

'It was an extraordinary scene,' Karl told The Hill.

'I wasn't shaming anybody. I simply tweeted four photos showing just about everybody wearing a mask in the Rose Garden - something we have never seen before.'