Stacey Abrams Draws Flak For ‘Slip Up’ In Maskless Photo At Elementary School

Stacey Abrams, who is vying for the Georgia gubernatorial seat, has drawn ire after retweeting and then deleting a photo that showed her maskless amid a group of masked schoolchildren at a Decatur elementary school.

On ABC’s “The View” Monday, liberal co-host Joy Behar said Abrams, a Democrat and voting rights advocate who pushed for strict masking policies in schools, “kind of slipped up” in the controversy that has since drawn the attention of Republican supporters who have slammed the alleged double standards among Democrats. Abrams is making her second bid to become governor of Georgia.

Behar noted that she’s “a little bit shocked” since she considers Abrams as “one of the most intelligent people in politics,” adding that the photo’s release was synonymous with “giving aid and comfort to the other side.”

David Perdue, who is hoping to snag the Republican gubernatorial nomination, swiftly took the opportunity to call out his Democratic rival.

In a Twitter video, Perdue featured the photo of Abrams and statements “This is the Georgia Stacey Abrams wants. This is the reality Brian Kemp has allowed. Unmask our kids.”

Kemp, who defeated Abrams by about 55,000 votes in a contentious gubernatorial rivalry in the 2018 election, is seeking to reclaim Republican nomination as Georgia governor this year.

Republican strategist Kevin Madden told The Hill that the former minority leader’s opponents are trying to convey “that there is a tremendous amount of hypocrisy from lawmakers who say, ‘Masks for thee but not for me.’ In this case it is a very stark image that crystalizes all of her opponents’ criticisms of her.”

In response to the growing criticism, Abrams’ campaign posted in an Instagram statement that her “opponents are using a Black History month reading event for Georgia children as the impetus for a false political attack,” CBS News reported.

“This pathetic, transparent and silly attack is beneath anyone who claims he wants to lead Georgia,” the campaign wrote. Abrams visited the Glennwood Elementary School Friday for an event featuring Black History Month.

Abrams’ campaign manager, Lauren Groh-Wargo, explained that she actually wore a mask to the event but “removed it at the podium so she could be heard by students watching remotely and for photos, but only with folks who were masked.”

However, “The View” co-host and lawyer Sunny Hostin argued that the statement from Abram’s campaign was “a lame excuse.” Hostin also pointed out that Abrams was “one of the proponents of mask mandates” and getting photographed maskless in public was “giving the right more ammunition” to attack her.