VP, Nancy face off on masks

Vice President Mike Pence said the Trump administration would leave it up to states to decide whether to mandate face masks, while House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Sunday called for a nationwide requirement.

Asked on CBS’s “Face the Nation” why President Trump has not told Americans to wear masks, Pence said, “We believe every state has a unique situation.”

“One of the elements of the genius of America is the principle of federalism, of state and local control. We’ve made it clear that we want to defer to governors. We want to defer to local officials,” he told host John Dickerson in an interview that aired Sunday.

Noting that the coronavirus “doesn’t know federalism,” Dickerson questioned why there wasn’t a coordinated national response.

“If we’d have taken that approach,” Pence replied, “we’d have never had the success that we had in the greater New York City area. We’d have never had the success in Michigan or New Orleans, because from early on, we worked closely in partnership with governors to make sure that they had what they needed when they needed it, tailored to the unique circumstances in their states.”

Meanwhile, Pelosi said a federal mandate to wear face masks was “long overdue.”

“And the president should be an example. You know, real men wear masks,” the California Democrat told ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday. “Be an example to the country and wear the mask. It’s not about protecting yourself. It’s about protecting others and their families.”