House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) on Sunday said a national mandate that requires everyone to wear a face mask is "long overdue."
"My understanding, that the Centers for Disease Control has recommended the use of masks but not required it because they don't want to offend the president," Pelosi said on ABC's This Week. "Their president should be [an] example. You know, real men wear masks. Be an example to the country and wear the mask. It's not about protecting yourself, it's about protecting others."
Pelosi echoed presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, who on Thursday said that he would mandate face masks in public if elected president.
"I would do everything possible to make it a requirement that people had to wear masks in public," Biden said.
Nearly 90 percent of Americans wear a face mask in public, according to a recent ABC News/Ipsos poll, and 46 states currently require residents to wear masks in at least some public places. Eighteen states, including California, New York, and Illinois, require residents to wear masks statewide.