and the president asked about whether children are safe. as we now reopen the country. we ll guide you through it all. a busy wednesday night. we ll begin with jonathan karl. reporter: another sign of the times. vice president pence arrived at the white house today wearing a mask. he s been keeping his distance from the president since his press secretary tested positive. i haven t seen mike pence and i miss him. i guess we said for a little while we ll stay apart because you don t know what happens with this very crazy and horrible disease. reporter: this was the president s first public appearance since the stark warning from anthony fauci about states reopening without meeting federal guidelines. there is a real risk that you will trigger an outbreak you may not be able to control. reporter: the president bristled a bit when asked about that. look, he wants to play all sides of the equation. some governors and some perhaps partisans, maybe for election reasons, don t wan