She knows she screwed up badly.
Following days of backlash following the emergence of a photograph in which she was maskless in a room full of masked children, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams has issued an apology for her behavior.
After a picture emerged that shows everyone else following rules surrounding COVID besides Abram, Abrams told CNN’s Erin Burnett on Tuesday that taking the picture “was the mistake.”
She continued, saying, “Protocols matter, and protecting our kids is the most important thing and anything that can be perceived as undermining. That is a mistake, and I apologize.”
The gubernatorial candidate reiterated statements made by her campaign, saying she mostly had her mask on but only took it off to read the book to the children, some of whom were listening remotely.
However, a report by Outkick shows that Abrams repeated the action of being maskless for several other photographs in addition to the picture that went viral this past weekend.
Despite her maskless photo ops, when Burnett questioned her about whether schools should lift mask mandates as other Democratic governors announced this week, Abrams’ eluded to this not being the time.
She answered by saying that “COVID hygiene is going to be a point of debate for a very long time, and we can only follow the science and follow our circumstances.” Elaborating on these statements, Abrams said she believed Georgia was “not at a place where that conversation is ready because we have one of the lowest vaccination rates in the country.”
She continued by saying, “each governor has to evaluate what’s happening where they are, we have to look to the CDC. But we also have to recognize that we are shifting from pandemic to endemic some states are going to get there faster than others.”
The gubernatorial candidate then said if she was “lucky enough to be the next Governor of Georgia,” she would examine science, follow protocols, and set the right example.” Then in a statement that contradicted her actions in the viral pictures, Abrams said, “And right now, that example is that we wear masks.”
