Graham says he did wear a mask at Trump speech, despite Harrison’s claim
U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham is pushing back on claims by his Democratic challenger Jaime Harrison that he didn’t wear a mask on Thursday at the president’s speech at the White House.
Graham was among the 1,500 people who attended President Donald Trump’s speech on the White House lawn on the last night of the Republican National Convention.
Many of the images from the non-socially distanced gathering included people not wearing masks, including one of Graham posing for a picture with other people.
When Graham, who requires masks at his campaign events, arrived at the White House, he had a mask on, according to a Getty Images photo published by Business Insider.
However, later in evening, former Trump Chief of Staff Reince Priebus posted a picture of him with Graham and a woman, with none of them wearing a mask.
“Sen. Graham wore his mask much of the night and continues to encourage everyone to wear a mask, socially distance and wash their hands,” said Graham spokesman T.W. Arrighi.
While speaking in Rowesville on Friday, Harrison said Graham could be risking the health of the people he comes in contact with.
“Last night Lindsey Graham was at an event where there were 1,500 people and he didn’t even have a mask on,” Harrison said. “And he’s going to get on a plane, and he’s going to fly back into South Carolina and he’s going to go over across the street to meet people. Do we know whether or not Lindsey Graham was affected? How will that impact the people of South Carolina?”
Graham’s campaign shot back at Harrison’s comments.
“Sadly, Jaime Harrison is more worried about policing Republican gatherings than supporting the actual police who are trying to save our cities from being burned to the ground,” Arrighi said. “Only in the eyes of a radical liberal would a peaceful political convention be more threatening than large mobs destroying property, assaulting innocent bystanders, and viciously harassing Sen. Rand Paul and his wife to the point of fearing for their safety. Sad is an understatement.”
This story was originally published August 28, 2020 at 5:13 PM with the headline "Graham says he did wear a mask at Trump speech, despite Harrison’s claim."
