(Headline USA) Failed Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams used Black History Month as an excuse after facing criticism for a picture in which she posed maskless with a group of masked students.
The picture, which Abrams shared on her Twitter account before eventually deleting it, showed Abrams sitting with a number of young students and teachers, all of whom were wearing masks. Abrams was the only one who was unmasked, even though the school district requires them.
Yet another picture of an unmasked Democrat surrounded by masked children. This is at a Decatur, Georgia elementary school, where they have a district-wide mask mandate. #gapol #UnmaskOurKids https://t.co/36NRJkNmhV pic.twitter.com/GU7DgL2nIA
— Kelley K ? * covid-georgia.com (@KelleyKga) February 5, 2022
Abrams’s opponents, Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and former Republican Sen. David Perdue, quickly made good use of the photo, slamming her for her blatant hypocrisy:
Stacey Abrams wants state government mask mandates for Georgians and their children.
But it looks like they wouldn’t apply when she’s attending a photo op. https://t.co/A7H8U6eXKS
— Brian Kemp (@BrianKempGA) February 6, 2022
In response, Abrams’s campaign tried to suggest Kemp, Perdue, and the other Republicans criticizing her were racist for “using a Black History Month reading event” as “the impetus for a false political attack.”
“And it is pitiful and predictable that our opponents continue to look for opportunities to distract from their failed records when it comes to protecting public health during the pandemic,” the statement continued.
Lauren Groh–Wargo, a spokeswoman for Abrams, also tried to argue Abrams only removed her mask “so she could be heard by students.”
Stacey trusts science and supports masking in schools as it’s the current CDC recommendation. She wore a mask to the event, and removed it at the podium so she could be heard by students watching remotely and for photos, but only with folks who were masked https://t.co/nbl2aJRqo0
— Lauren Groh-Wargo (@gwlauren) February 6, 2022
Studies have consistently shown that children have a minimal risk of suffering serious adverse health consequences from COVID-19, and also that masks are ineffective in preventing the transmission of it.
Nonetheless, some schools have used the controversial policies to shame and segregate students, even threatening elementary school kids with criminal “trespassing” for attending school without a mask.
Mask advocates argue that those like Abrams who refuse to follow the guidelines are not endangering themselves so much as those around them.
Former President Barack Obama and COVID Czar Anthony Fauci drew criticism in December for interacting with young children at a “pop-up” vaccination clinic while ignoring Washington, DC’s mask mandates and the social-distancing guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
