Stacey Abrams apologizes for posing maskless with elementary students: ‘That was a mistake’

Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams said Tuesday night that “excitement” prompted her to pose maskless for a photo last week with a group of elementary schoolchildren — a move that has generated a rash of mostly Republican criticism.

On CNN’s “OutFront,” Abrams explained that she was in the Decatur, Ga., elementary school classroom for a Black History Month reading event on Friday. She said she kept her mask on until she reached the lectern and took it off only because she was reading to students who were “listening remotely, as well.” Abrams added that she was socially distanced from the students and said she told them she would take off her mask for the reading.

“And then the excitement after I finished — because it was so much fun working with those kids — I took a picture, and that was a mistake,” Abrams told host Erin Burnett. “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.”