Stacey Abrams under fire for appearing maskless at Glennwood Elementary School event
Politician and New York Times bestselling author Stacey Abrams greets a capacity crowd and poses for pictures at First Baptist Decatur Sanctuary before her session “Lead from the Outside: How to Build Your Future and Make Real Change” with interviewer Candice Dyer during the AJC Decatur Book Festival. File photo.
This story has been updated.
Decatur, GA — Gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams is being called a hypocrite for appearing at Decatur’s Glennwood Elementary maskless during a Black History Month event.
Abrams called the criticism a “false political attack.”
It’s unclear when the event took place, but pictures of it were recently posted on Twitter by the school’s principal, Holly Brookins. The principal has since deleted her Twitter account.
Have a feeling this photo—which Abrams promoted on her own account—of her appearing maskless surrounded by kids in masks is gonna be in a lot of ads this fall. pic.twitter.com/gYtDOMGTeK
— Alex Thompson (@AlexThomp) February 6, 2022
Masks are required for City Schools of Decatur staff and students. The city of Decatur also has a mask ordinance. Gov. Brian Kemp, who is facing a tough primary fight from former senator David Perdue, pounced on the photos when they began making the rounds on Sunday, Feb. 6. Kemp’s campaign accused Abrams’ of wanting rules for others that don’t apply to her.
“This kind of hypocrisy is exactly why Georgians see her campaign for governor for what it truly is: a quest for more power,” Kemp’s spokesperson told the Atlanta Journal Constitution’s Greg Bluestein. “Gov. Kemp will continue fighting to put students and parents first.”
Abrams fired back. She told the Atlanta Journal Constitution she only took her mask off for speaking and during photos.
“It’s shameful that our opponents are using a Black History Month reading event for Georgia children 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,” she said. “One of Stacey’s opponents downplayed the virus while trading stock to profit off the pandemic after his private coronavirus briefings as Senator. Another of her opponents attacked mayors seeking to protect citizens and has failed to expand access to Medicaid even as rural hospitals close.”
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