Joe Biden says wearing a mask should be 'viewed as a patriotic duty'

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden on Monday said it's never been clearer that "masks matter."

While participating in an NBC News town hall in Miami, Biden continued his push to get all Americans to embrace the use of masks to curb the spread of coronavirus. The town hall started after President Trump returned to the White House following a three-day stay in the hospital to receive treatment for the coronavirus. COVID-19 has spread across the White House, where Trump and others regularly gathered without masks, and moments after his arrival on Monday evening, a still-contagious Trump took his mask off and placed it in his pocket.

Biden told the town hall audience he "would hope that the president, having gone through what he went through — and I'm glad he seems to be coming along pretty well — would communicate the right lesson to the American people. Masks matter. These masks, they matter. It matters. It saves lives. It prevents the spread of the disease." Biden said he saw Trump's Monday afternoon tweet telling people not to be "afraid of Covid," and he disagreed with the message, saying, "There's a lot to be concerned about."

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Moderator Lester Holt brought up a new poll that found two in three people believe Trump is at least partially responsible for becoming infected with the virus, and Biden said that "anybody who contracts the virus by essentially saying masks don't matter, social distancing doesn't matter, I think is responsible for what happens to them." In a message to the "tough guys" who won't wear a mask, Biden said they need to remember it's not just about them, and donning a face covering "should be viewed as a patriotic duty to protect those around you."