Stacey Abrams’s campaign team posts ad for a social media manager days after maskless photo mishpa

Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams is looking for a social media manager after being enveloped by controversy over a Twitter account belonging to the pro-mask Democrat that shared a photo of her flouting face-covering mandates during a visit to an Atlanta elementary school.

‘Job Opportunity!’ an advertisement for the position posted to Twitter Monday by job-search company Daybook begins, before declaring: ‘Stacey Abrams Gubernatorial Campaign seeks a Social Media Platforms Director to manage the day-to-day posting and approval on the campaign’s social media accounts.’

The advertisement then links to a listing posted Sunday by Daybook detailing the duties of the position. 

The posting comes after Abrams, a fierce mask proponent, sparked outrage online after retweeting an image of herself maskless on Friday while surrounded by dozens of children forced to wear face coverings during a visit to Glenwood Elementary School.

After backlash by social media users across the country, the tweet was promptly deleted, with Abrams since hitting back at her detractors, including rival and Republican incumbent Brian Kemp – whom Abrams once  slammed as ‘incompetent’ for moving to block local mask mandates – calling the criticism a ‘political attack.’

It is not immediately clear whether the post advertising the position – which calls for applicants to ‘manage day-to-day posting on the campaign’s social media accounts’ as well as ‘the approval process for all outbound social media content’ – comes in response to the controversy currently surrounding the 48-year-old politician.

DailyMail.com reached out to Abrams’ campaign team and manager Lauren Groh-Wargo Monday morning regarding the listing and whether it comes in response to a previous staffer’s firing due to retweeting the since-deleted image, but did not immediately hear back.

Abrams’ campaign website, however, lists a dozen other open positions that need to be filled, including one for a ‘Deputy Campaign Manager’ and another ‘Digital Fundraiser Director,’ seeming to suggest that the she is expanding her team as prepares for November’s election.

The listings were posted the same day as the one advertising the social media position.  

With that said, social media users seem convinced that the incidents are connected.

‘Guess the last person who held this position just got canned,’ one joked in a reply to the posting.

‘What happened to the person who previously occupied that position? Are they even still alive?’ another quipped.

The advertisement comes after Abrams’ team made light of the photo and subsequently hit out against her critics in a scathing Instagram post, while also going on the offensive and attacking the reputations of her opponents. 

‘It is shameful that our opponents are using a Black History Month reading event for Georgia children as the impetus for a false political attack,’ the statement read. 

‘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.’ 

‘One of Stacey’s opponents downplayed the virus while trading stock to profit off the pandemic after his private coronavirus briefings as a Senator,’ the statement continued.

‘Another of her opponents attacked mayors seeking to protect their citizens and has failed to expand access to Medicaid even as rural hospitals close. This pathetic, transparent and silly attack is beneath anyone who claims he wants to lead Georgia.’  

Abrams, who has been branded a ‘mask fascist’ on the social media platform, is the latest Democrat to ignore her own demand for mask mandates. 

New York Rep. Jamaal Brown, who has urged people to continue to wear masks was pictured without one when he visited a high school at the end of January – despite the state’s mandates that masks be worn at all times in public schools. California Governor Gavin Newsom, LA Mayor Eric Garcetti and San Francisco Mayor London Breed all posed maskless for photos at the 49ers Vs Rams game in Los Angeles on January 30.   

In Georgia, mask use is recommended both indoors and in public. Last summer, Kemp attempted to block local mask mandates. After easing his order in the fall, cities such as Atlanta, Savannah, Macon and Athens have reinstated citywide mandates. 

Republican rival Kemp took to Twitter Sunday to condemn Abrams as he prepares for a likely showdown with the progressive politico in the fall. 

‘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,’ he tweeted. 

The controversy comes on the heels of a series of public outcries against Democratic leaders who have failed to abide by the same same draconian COVID-19 guidelines they have preached throughout the pandemic. 

In early January, New York Congresswoman Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez revealed she had become infected with COVID-19 after she was photographed partying maskless at a Miami drag brunch. The state’s governor, Kathy Hochul, and Sen. Kirstin Gillibrand have been photographed skirting New York’s mask mandate.

Last week, California Governor Gavin Newsom, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and San Francisco Mayor London Breed were spotted breaking their own indoor mask mandate during the NFL Championship Game in LA. 

And on January 31, Rep. Jamaal Bowman, a Democrat of New York, was pictured not wearing a mask when visiting students at New Rochelle High School – despite the state’s mandates that masks must be worn at all times in public schools.  

Abrams was all smiles in the photo originally shared by Dr Holly Brookins, the school’s principal, who said Abrams read her book, Stacey’s Extraordinary Words, to the class to kick off Black History Month. 

‘Spending time with Glennwood’s amazing students, faculty and staff ranks as spectacular, delightful and outstanding,’ Abrams tweeted on Friday.  

Abrams was forced to delete the controversial picture after she was slammed on Twitter. 

‘Confirmation, if any were needed, that Stacey Abrams is a member of the Democratic elite in good standing—mask hypocrisy is practically a status symbol now,’ the editor of the National Review, Rich Lowry, tweeted in response to the snap. 

Political Commentator Clay Travis wrote: ‘The number of left wing politicians who post photos posing without masks while all the kids around them are wearing masks is stunning. Here is Stacey Abrams doing it. This is child abuse. political commentator Clay Travis said. 

Meanwhile, Politico journalist Alex Thompson ventured to suggest that the picture would come back to haunt Abrams during Georgia’s gubernatorial race in the fall. 

‘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,’ Johnson tweeted. 

‘Are these little children forced to wear masks to protect @StaceyAbrams?’ Columnist Larry O’Connor asked on the social media platform. 

‘What kind of cruel monster makes little children cover their faces so they can have a photo op without fear of viral infection? If you’re so afraid that you make kids wear masks around you, stay home!,’ he added.  

Georgia had 272,046 new cases of COVID infections last week, down dramatically from the weekly record-high of 695,048 set between Jan 10–Jan 16, 2022, as the more mild Omicron variant begins to wane around the country.

Abrams is the most recent Democrat leader embroiled in controversy after being accused of not following through with their support for mask use. 

New York Rep. Jamaal Brown posed for a maskless photo with students during a January 31 visit to New Rochelle High School. In the picture, Bowman is grinning ear to ear, as students around him are wearing face masks in accordance with New York State’s mask mandate, which requires all students and staff to wear face coverings at all times except for designated ‘mask breaks’ and lunch time. 

And just a few days after the photo was taken, on February 3, Bowman also tweeted that everyone should continue to ‘mask up, stay safe, and get boosted,’ prompting at least one man to write: ‘Make sure to follow your own advice and rules, sir.’ 

A day earlier, Californians were left seething after its top leaders – including Governor Newsom, LA  Mayor Garcetti, and San Francisco Mayor Breed – were spotted maskless during an NFL game Sunday in defiance of state and local mandates.

The smiling Democrats were seen posing barefaced for photographs with basketball legend Magic Johnson inside a box suite at the SoFi Stadium during the January 30 game that pitted the Los Angeles Rams against the San Francisco 49ers. 

Newsom told reporters Monday that he only took his mask off momentarily to pose for a photo.

‘I was very judicious yesterday … In my left hand’s the mask, and I took a photo,’ he said. ‘The rest of the time I wore it, as we all should.’ 

State mask mandates require Californians to wear masks in all indoor public spaces and workplaces through February 15 regardless of vaccination status. In Los Angeles County, residents are expected to mask up in ‘all indoor public settings, venues, gatherings, and public and private businesses’. Masks are also required at all outdoor mega events.

It appears some of the photos were taken outside the boxed-in suite, but it wouldn’t make much difference at the So-Fi Stadium, where masks are required indoors and outdoors during events with more than 5,000 people. 

The City of Los Angeles also mandates masks for large events. 

Republican state Assemblyman Kevin Kiley – who ran against Newsom during last year’s recall – called the governor out on Twitter.

‘In light of his conduct at the football game, and in light of what empirical data and common sense have long dictated, I’m calling on Gavin Newsom to end the school mask mandate,’ Kiley tweeted. 

On January 9, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, 32, said she  caught COVID days after she was snapped partying maskless at a Miami drag brunch. 

The Socialist firebrand made the announcement on her official Twitter page, sharing a statement on House of Representatives-headed paper which said: ‘Representative Ocasio-Cortez has received a positive test result for COVID-19.

‘She is experiencing symptoms and is recovering at home. The Congresswoman received her booster shot this Fall, and encourages everyone to get their booster and follow all CDC guidance.’  

It was unclear when or how AOC became infected. 

Despite staunchly advocating for mask and vaccine mandates, she had abandoned her own rhetoric a week before becoming infected during a trip to Miami where she was spotted maskless at numerous venues.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul also landed in hot water for posing maskless for photos in October, defying her own mandate. And last month, the state’s junior senator, Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand said she ‘would do better’ after she was caught on video at an upstate restaurant ignoring the indoor mask mandate.  

‘We all need to do our part to help stop the spread of Omicron and that means following state and local guidance,’ Gillibrand told Fox News Digital. ‘That includes me and I will do better going forward.’

Gillibrand was slammed by Innovo Kitchen’s owner John La Posta, who shared his frustration at Gillibrand’s double standards, along with surveillance footage that showed her at the restaurant without a mask. 

‘The problem with NY politics in a nut shell. My Senator blowing past my manager before she can even ask her to put a mask on. Walking right past a really big sign that says ‘masks required to enter,” the owner of the Latham restaurant wrote on Instagram.  

‘The masks are a mandate from the Governor. As good citizens, agree or not, we must follow our leaders. Her guest is graciously wearing one. I guess Senator Gillibrand thinks that the Governor is wrong or she is special and above the rules,’ he went on to say.   

Gillibrand has been very outspoken about her support for vaccination and mask use. 

‘Protect yourself and help ease the strain on hospitals and health care workers. Get vaccinated and boosted,’ she tweeted earlier this week. 

In the surveillance video shared by La Posta, Gillibrand can be seen strolling maskless through the restaurant in upstate New York. 

La Posta said staff at the restaurant did not have a chance to ask Gillibrand to wear a mask after she blew past a ‘Masks required to enter’ sign. 

La Posta told the New York Post he believed his staff deserved an apology.

‘It’s hypocritical to me. The arrogance is just breathtaking. Our politicians should be with us, not against us,’ he told the outlet.