Joe Biden said he will wear a face mask if he goes out in public in accordance with new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations – after Donald Trump said Friday that he will not comply.
‘Yes. Look, I think it’s important to follow the science. Listen to the experts. Do what they tell you,’ Biden told ABC This Week on Sunday morning when asked if he would be wearing a mask in public places.
‘He may not like how he looks in a mask. But the truth of the matter is that – follow the science,’ the former vice president continued, referencing Trump’s insistence that he won’t wear a mask.
The 77-year-old Democratic presidential candidate, however, said he has not gone to public or commercial places lately, so he hasn’t had a need to wear a mask.
Biden also said the Democratic National Convention might have to be held virtually as the coronavirus outbreak continues to affect Americans’ day-to-day life.
Former Vice President Joe Biden said Sunday that he will be wearing a mask whenever he goes out in public to comply with new CDC recommendations to stop the spread and contraction of coronavirus
He also insisted that Donald Trump should wear a mask, even if he thinks he looks foolish in one
Trump said during a press briefing Friday that the suggestion from the CDC was not a mandate, and said he would not be participating. ‘This is voluntary. I don’t think I’m going to be doing it,’ he told the press
Trump announced during his Friday press briefing that the CDC is now recommending Americans wear non-medical cloth masks, making clear it is not a mandate.
‘So it’s voluntary, you don’t have to be doing it,’ Trump said from the White House briefing room podium. ‘This is voluntary.’
‘I don’t think I’m going to be doing it,’ he said.
Trump suggested wearing a mask might make him look foolish as he worked from the White House and spoke with world leaders.
‘I’m feeling good,’ Trump said when asked why he wouldn’t sport a mask. ‘Somehow sitting in the Oval Office, sitting behind that beautiful Resolute Desk, the great Resolute Desk, I think wearing a face mask as I greet presidents, prime ministers, dictators, kings, queens, I don’t know, I just don’t see it for myself.’
First lady Melania Trump asserted just minutes later that Americans should take the CDC recommendation seriously.
‘As the weekend approaches I ask that everyone take social distancing & wearing a mask/face covering seriously,’ she tweeted Friday.
As of Sunday more than 8,500 people have died of coronavirus in the U.S. and the number of confirmed cases has reached 312,000.
Members of Trump’s coronavirus task force have said for days that they were debating whether or not to put out a mask recommendation as they learn more about the fast-spreading respiratory disease.
Biden, the presumed 2020 Democratic candidate, also told ABC’s George Stephenopoulos Sunday that he believes the DNC Convention could be moved to a digital platform as coronavirus concerns continue to rock the nation.
‘Well we’re going to have to do a convention – may have to do a virtual convention,’ Biden conceded. ‘I think we should be thinking about that right now.’
‘The idea of holding a convention is going to be necessary, but we may not be able to put 10, 20, 30,000 people in one place,’ the candidate continued. ‘And that’s very possible. Again, let’s see where it is. What we do between now and then is going to dictate a lot of that, as well.’
Biden’s suggestion of a non-in-person convention comes after the DNC announced this week that it is moving the convention dates from July 13-16 to August 17-20 – the days just before the Republican National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The Democratic National Committee made it official on Thursday, the morning after Biden said it would likely be delayed a month due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The convention will remain in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Biden also said the Democratic Convention may need to be held virtually even after the DNC delayed the nominating convention a month. Biden is the presumed Democratic nominee, but Bernie Sanders has not yet dropped out of the race
The CEO of the DNCC Joe Solmonese suggested convention plans are still up in the air.
‘In our current climate of uncertainty, we believe the smartest approach is to take additional time to monitor how this situation unfolds so we can best position our party for a safe and successful convention,’ he said in a statement Thursday.
He was optimistic that Democrats would hold some sort of convention this summer in Milwaukee.
‘I have always believed that American innovation and ingenuity shine brightest during our darkest days, and for that reason, I’m confident our convention planning team and our partners will find a way to deliver a convention in Milwaukee this summer that places our Democratic nominee on the path to victory in November,’ Solmonese continued in the statement.
Trump predicted Saturday that the Republican National Convention will go on as scheduled in Charlotte on August 24.
‘We have no contingency plan,’ Trump said Saturday of the convention that will renominate him.