Joe Biden and Wife Jill Wear Masks for Memorial Day Wreath Laying, Forcing Comparisons Over Donald Trump's Lack of Mask

Former Vice President Joe Biden attended a Memorial Day ceremony with wife Dr. Jill Biden, marking the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee's first public appearance in two months. His decision to wear a mask to the wreath-laying ceremony drew instant comparisons to President Donald Trump's ongoing refusal to do so. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has advised Americans to wear face masks in public to help slow the spread of the coronavirus.

Biden, 77, and Jill, 68, left their Wilmington, Delaware home together to lay a wreath at a veterans memorial park near his home. Both Bidens wore black face masks, and were accompanied by Secret Service agents. Biden only made brief remarks, and saluted the list of names on the memorial. "Never forget the sacrifices that these men and women made," Biden said, reports the Associated Press. "Never, ever forget." Biden later told reporters it felt "great to be out here," although his works were muffled by the face mask.

Meanwhile, Trump appeared at back-to-back events at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia and Fort McHenry in Baltimore to bring some normalcy to the first major holiday to fall during the coronavirus pandemic. During his remarks in Baltimore, Trump praised the men and women in uniform "on the front lines of our war against this terrible virus" and insisted that the U.S. "will vanquish the virus." He said the country will "rise from this crisis to new and even greater heights," notes the Associated Press.