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Joe Biden says he will ask Americans to commit to 100 days of wearing masks as one of his first acts as president of the United States, stopping shortly before the national mandate he has pushed before to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
The move marks a notable departure from President Donald Trump, whose own skepticism about wearing masks has helped politicize the issue.
That has made many people reluctant to adopt a practice that public health experts say is one of the easiest ways to manage the pandemic, which has killed more than 275,000 Americans.
The president-elect has frequently emphasized wearing masks as a “patriotic duty,” and during the campaign he raised the idea of instituting a nationwide mask mandate, which he later recognized would be beyond the president’s ability to enforce.
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Speaking with CNN’s Jake Tapper, Biden said that he would make the request from the Americans on inauguration day, January 20.
“The first day I take office, I am going to ask the public for 100 days to mask. Only 100 days to mask, not forever, only 100 days. And I think we will see a significant reduction ”in the virus, Biden said.
Biden also said he asked Dr. Anthony Fauci to remain in his administration, “in exactly the same role that he has held for past presidents,” as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert. country. .
Andrew Harnik / AP
“The first day I take office, I am going to ask the public for 100 days to mask. Just 100 days to mask, not forever, just 100 days, ”Biden said.
The president-elect said he asked Fauci to be a “chief medical adviser” as well as part of his Covid-19 advisory team.
Regarding a coronavirus vaccine, Biden said he would be “happy” to get vaccinated in public to allay any concerns about its efficacy and safety.
Three former presidents, Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, have said they will also get publicly vaccinated to show that it is safe.
“People have lost faith in the vaccine’s ability to work,” Biden said, adding that “it matters what a president and vice president do.”
In the same interview, Biden also weighed in on reports that Trump is considering forgiving himself and his allies.
“It concerns me in terms of what kind of precedent it sets and how the rest of the world sees us as a nation of law and justice,” Biden said.
Biden pledged that his Justice Department “will operate independently” and that whoever he chooses to head the department will have the “independent ability to decide who will be investigated.”
“They are not going to see that kind of pardons approach in our administration, nor are they going to see the tweeting policy-making approach in our administration,” he said.
Vice President-elect Kamala Harris added that any decision that comes out of the Justice Department “must be based on facts, must be based on law, must not be influenced by politics.”
