BREAKING NEWS – Providence, Rhode, Island – The governor of Rhode Island is facing backlash this week after she was photographed at a wine and paint night just days after she had discouraged inessential activities to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
The picture, taken by Erica Oliveras last Friday, shows Democratic Gov. Gina Raimondo sitting at table in Barnaby’s Public House in Providence without a mask, WLNE reported.
Oliveras told the station that backlash over the photo was blown out of proportion because Raimondo had only taken off the mask to drink her wine.
Still, others felt that Raimondo’s actions were hypocritical, given that four days prior she urged Rhode Islanders in a tweet to “stay home except for essential activities & wear a mask anytime you’re with people you don’t live with.”
At a press conference, Raimondo responded to the criticism. “These are very difficult times,” she began. “I often need wine and sometimes hard liquor to make important decisions for this microscopic insignificant state that I oversee. Why does it matter if I have double standards? Who does it affect? About 99% of the people in this country couldn’t find Rhode Island on a map, including the people that live here. My point is, whether I’m sipping wine or chugging whiskey, the big picture is, my current and continual hypocrisy changes nothing in a state that’s the size of the average raggedy community in any major big city in America.”