Former Vice President Joe Biden is back to pushing for a national mask mandate to help curb the spread of coronavirus, Fox News reports.
While taking questions from reporters during a campaign event Wednesday, Biden said his legal team thinks he would have the authority to sign an executive order implementing a federal mask mandate if he were president.
“The question is whether I have the legal authority as president to sign an executive order,” Biden said. “We think we do, but can’t guarantee you that yet.”
He said he would first “call all the governors to the White House” and explain why it is necessary to have a mask mandate. If the governors opt out of his request, he said he would consider the executive order.
"Our legal team thinks I can do that based upon the degree to which there's a crisis in those states, and how bad things are for the country, and if we don't do it, what happens," Biden said of his ability to act if some states decline to put a mask mandate in place.
He said if he received the legal OK to sign the executive order on masks, he would.
Biden pushed for a national mask mandate before, but he walked back on his comments earlier this month citing constitutional concerns.
Biden emphasized Wednesday that wearing a mask is the “easiest, most effective means we have of reducing the spread of this disease.”
He pointed out that health experts predict a spike in cases in November and that the country needs a leader that will prevent more people from dying. He then ripped comments Trump made during a Tuesday town hall on ABC News.
He accused Trump of offering “weak and feckless inaction” and said he isn’t protecting the American people.
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