Gov. Cuomo Calls on Trump to Sign Executive Order ‘Directing Everyone to Wear a Mask’

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) on Monday called on President Trump to sign an executive order “directing everyone to wear a mask” and urged the president to “lead by example” by wearing one himself.

Cuomo told reporters on Monday that the Trump administration “should start telling the people of this country the truth” of “how real a threat COVID is” and called on him to take action.

“To start simply, the president can do two things. First, sign an executive order directing everyone to wear a mask,” Cuomo said, lamenting the absence of such an order.

“How we’re at this point as a nation and we still haven’t done the simple, easy, minimal step of saying you must wear a mask when you are in public,” Cuomo said.

“And the president doesn’t have to pass a piece of legislation, doesn’t have to call the Congress. Just sign an executive order saying wear a mask,” he continued, noting New York’s mandate, which went into effect over two months ago:

We did it two months ago in this state. The other states are just starting to do it now — states that were recalcitrant. Governors who said, ‘We don’t need to do this, Masks don’t work,’  all the political nonsense we heard, now they’re doing a 180, and you have the same states now wearing masks. Let the president have the same sense and do that as an executive order.

Cuomo also called on the president to “lead by example” and wear a mask “because we know it works.”

“We’ve proven that it works in the state of New York and the president can still be New York tough and New York smart and united and disciplined and loving,” he added:

Several states, in addition to New York — including California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Pennsylvania Rhode Island, Virginia, and Washington — have imposed requirements involving face coverings in recent weeks. Several localities across Florida, where coronavirus cases have spiked, have also imposed their own restrictions.

White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany, when asked about the recent mask mandate in Jacksonville, Florida — where the president’s nomination celebration will take place — said that the president has “no problem with masks and to do whatever your local jurisdiction requests.”

“It’s his choice to wear a mask. It’s the personal choice of any individual as to whether to wear a mask or not,” McEnany told reporters on Monday.

“He encourages people to make whatever decision is best for their safety,” she added.