'We can always do better:' Terry McAuliffe responds to maskless picture
ROANOKE, Va. (WSET) — Democrat Terry McAuliffe made a campaign stop in the Roanoke area Wednesday afternoon as he gears up for the Gubernatorial Debate on Thursday.
He toured the COVID-19 testing and research being done at Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at Virginia Tech Carilion.
He said in order to end the pandemic, all Virginians need to get vaccinated and that folks need to follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for masking.
SEE ALSO: Health, safety, economy: Va. Dem. leaders rally support in Roanoke
But overnight, his Republican opponent, Glenn Youngkin, shared a picture that had been published by Fox News showing McAuliffe allegedly not wearing a mask on an Amtrak train. By federal law, masks are required there.
During ABC 13's Gubernatorial Town Hall, McAuliffe said "people need to follow the CDC guidelines. They are experts. You're not, I'm not. We have to follow these experts who tell us what's best."
When approached about the photo of him allegedly not wearing his mask, McAuliffe said everybody can do better.
"I'm very good about wearing my mask. I think we can all always do better. It was 1 o'clock in the morning on an empty train. But we can always do better and I think it's important," McAuliffe said.
McAuliffe said he's out front with vaccine mandates, wanting to require them for higher education, employers and healthcare.
He said it's a huge difference between himself and Youngkin who doesn't believe there should be mandates.
McAuliffe said he hopes Thursday's debate shows the stark difference between the two candidates.
RELATED: McAuliffe, Youngkin debate COVID-19 vaccines on Twitter
He said there is a huge difference between their plans for Virginia. McAuliffe said he has 20 proposals out. He claims Youngkin doesn't even have a detailed health care plan.
At the debate he wants Youngkin to answer straight about his stance on abortion, gay marriage and Medicaid expansion.
SEE ALSO: Youngkin puts emphasis on law enforcement in Roanoke campaign stop
"We know the answer to all of those is no, we have caught him on camera and we know the answer is no. He's been hiding from the press for eight months," he said.
McAuliffe said he's glad they're finally debating.
He took issue with Youngkin not agreeing to the first debate, a long-time tradition that was supposed to be held at the Homestead.
McAuliffe then pulled out of a debate after Youngkin chose to attend a GOP rally regarding election integrity at Liberty University.
