Pelosi: Nationwide mask mandate ‘definitely long overdue’

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Sunday a nationwide mandate to wear face coverings to prevent the spread of coronavirus is “definitely long overdue.” 

“Definitely long overdue for that,” Pelosi told George Stephanopoulos on ABC’s “This Week.” “And my understanding that the Centers for Disease Control [and Prevention] has recommended the use of masks but not required it because they don’t want to offend the president.”

The speaker called on President Trump to “be an example” to the U.S. and wear a face covering, saying “real men wear masks.”

JUST IN: @GStephanopoulos: “Is it time to mandate the wearing of masks across the country?”

“Definitely long overdue for that,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi says, adding that the CDC recommended use of masks but did not mandate it as to “not offend” Pres. Trump. https://t.co/y2qk2iXUsd pic.twitter.com/GTJ8UUieKm

— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) June 28, 2020

Pelosi also demanded the Senate and White House act to pass the $3 trillion coronavirus relief package approved by the House last month. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has not brought it to the floor for a vote. 

{mosads}“It’s time for this administration to take this seriously,” she said. “As Dr. [Anthony] Fauci said, we have a serious problem ahead.”

“This is life and death, and we do have a plan to again reverse this trend, as well as to kill off this virus,” she added. “We don’t have a vaccine, and we don’t have a cure. God willing and science enabling, we will sometime soon, but until we do, we have the tools to halt the growth of this.”

.@GStephanopoulos: “It’s pretty clear we are failing…to stop the spread. How can we fix it?”

Pelosi: “We can fix it by passing the HEROES Act…it’s time for this administration to take this seriously. As Dr. Fauci said, we have a serious problem ahead.” https://t.co/ANK8AVWawA pic.twitter.com/m3CF0MXc9f

— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) June 28, 2020

The U.S. reached 2.5 million coronavirus cases on Saturday and has recorded at least 125,539 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. 

The Trump administration has begun turning its attention to the campaign trail in the past week, holding indoor events in Arizona and Oklahoma, two states with rising cases, against the advice of public health officials. 

The president has praised the amount of testing conducted in the country but said at his Tulsa, Okla., rally that he wished fewer tests were conducted, so the number of confirmed cases would be lower. Trump and other officials later said his comments were made in jest.