“My message to Black women and girls everywhere: Never ask for permission to lead,” Harris said on Sunday, sharing an image of herself bending down and holding the hand of a little black girl who was wearing a mask covering half her face. Harris is not wearing a mask in the image:
My message to Black women and girls everywhere: Never ask for permission to lead. pic.twitter.com/vimjDeItFG
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) February 19, 2023
The photo is one reminiscent of the days of Democrat politicians posing with masked-up children for photo ops throughout the pandemic, all while forgoing a mask themselves. Yet, many of these same politicians continued to push universal masking on others, including children.
Perhaps most famous is the image of twice-failed Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, who appeared maskless, smiling gleefully, while surrounded by dozens of masked children at an elementary school in February 2022.
At the time, City Schools of Decatur stated on its website that all students and employees must wear masks in the buildings. Yet, Abrams broke the rule, at least temporarily, during that specific photo:
Hi @staceyabrams and @hmbrookins, why did both of you delete these tweets? pic.twitter.com/6rdmT2iHIj
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) February 6, 2022
Self-righteous politicians show off their smile as they force your children to be muzzled all day, set back years in their development, and carry the burden of a pandemic that was never at high risk to them.
Stacey Abrams is an enemy to Georgia’s families. pic.twitter.com/57U1daKJol
— American Principles ?? (@approject) February 6, 2022
“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,” Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s spokesman Tate Mitchell said in a statement provided to Breitbart News at the time, slamming the hypocrisy of the situation.
“This kind of hypocrisy is exactly why Georgians see her campaign for governor for what it truly is: a quest for more power,” he added.
A spokesperson for Abrams defended the move, contending that the Democrat wore a mask but removed it so students could hear her. Yet, she still required children to remain masked up.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Operational Guidance for K-12 Schools and Early Care and Education Programs to Support Safe In-Person Learning, last updated October 5, 2022, recommends universal indoor masking in schools for communities with a “high” coronavirus community level.
Critics flooded Harris’s tweet for posing with a masked-up child, noting the hypocrisy.
“Just don’t ask for permission to breathe,” one user remarked as another added, “Why is the child masked but you are not? Aren’t you more the target age for Covid than she is? You disgust me.”
“You’re really forcing this child to wear a mask while you breathe freely. You’re a joke,” another noted.
But she’s been forced to wear a mask?
— Hodgetwins (@hodgetwins) February 19, 2023
Kids should not have to ask for permission to show their faces and breathe freely.
— Christina Pushaw ? ?? (@ChristinaPushaw) February 19, 2023
All this picture does is remind us that you support masking children while you are unmasked yourself. You’re anti-science.
— Liz Wheeler (@Liz_Wheeler) February 19, 2023
