In a Thursday afternoon statement, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden called for the public to wear face masks for three months, at least, in order to stop the ongoing spread of the coronavirus, calling on governors to implement this requirement because President Trump won’t.
Saying mask wearing is “patriotic,” Biden said it is the duty of the American people to act to prevent the spread of the virus, offering a sharp contrast to the attitude of Trump, his campaign and republicans.
As vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris took the podium, she started her remarks, she declared “That’s what real leadership looks like,” lambasting the lack of federal action to respond to the pandemic and the lack of leadership from Trump, who has refused to wear a mask in most public appearances and demeaned those who did.
The Biden-Harris campaign said that they would implement a public mask mandate if in office, citing scientific studies that show that mask mandates would save tens of thousands of lives.
Harris said that the campaign would call for $25 billion in funding for health equipment, including personal protective equipment, testing kits and face masks, manufactured in the United States, to combat the spread of the coronavirus.