Biden offers details of ‘national mask mandate’

WILMINGTON, Delaware -- Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden is detailing his approach on what he’s called a “national mask mandate” as he campaigns against President Donald Trump.

Biden told NBC News during a town hall Monday night that he doesn’t believe a president can impose a national mandate nationwide. But Biden says as president he’d require masks on federal property, an executive action with wide reach across the country.

Biden says he’d use the bully pulpit of the presidency to urge all governors, mayors and county executives to use their authority to require masks in their jurisdictions. Biden says he’d call governors to the White House to talk about Covid-19, though he adds that he knows not all of them would come.

Biden often mentions the need for nationwide mask mandates but he has sometimes been unclear about how he views presidential authority on the matter.