MSNBC host: Stacey Abrams ‘obviously’ doesn't want to appear with unpopular Biden in Georgia
'Politicians don’t show up with presidents when their approval ratings may be in the 30s in the state where they want to be elected governor,' Joe Scarborough said
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough said Stacey Abrams is skipping President Biden’s voting rights speech in Georgia on Tuesday because the gubernatorial candidate doesn’t want to be seen with the unpopular president in the state.
"This is an event custom-made for Stacy Abrams, she obviously doesn’t want to be on the same stage as Joe Biden," Scarborough said on "Morning Joe."
STACEY ABRAMS WILL MISS BIDEN’S VOTING RIGHTS SPEECH IN GEORGIA
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Joe Scarborough said Stacey Abrams is "obviously" skipping President Biden’s important voting rights speech in Georgia on Tuesday because the gubernatorial candidate doesn’t want to be seen with the unpopular president. (Reuters)
"I am not criticizing Stacey Abrams here. I am making a comment about the political standing of Joe Biden as seen from a woman who’s running for governor of Georgia and wants to win that election," Scarborough continued. "Politicians show up with presidents when they have 52% approval ratings. Politicians don’t show up with presidents when their approval ratings may be in the 30s in the state where they want to be elected governor."
The MSNBC host then joked that perhaps Abrams is getting her tires rotated and can’t skip the critical vehicle maintenance to join Biden as he makes a pitch to the American people.
"This is politics 101. I find it fascinating, and it speaks less to Stacey Abrams, it really does, than it does what she perceives Joe Biden’s political standing to be in the state of Georgia right now," Scarborough said. "She is the one who is the champion of voting rights, and she is the one that helped Joe Biden win the state of Georgia … On the forefront of everything he is talking about today. All the more reason you would think she would be there, unless she thought it didn’t help her campaign running for governor of Georgia."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}An Abrams aide told Fox News she has a conflict but expressed the candidate's support of President Biden.
STACEY ABRAMS LAUNCHES 2022 BID FOR GOVERNOR IN GEORGIA
Biden narrowly won Georgia in the 2020 election, making him the first Democratic presidential hopeful to do so since 1992, but his approval there has slumped along with his overall national numbers.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Abrams, who in 2018 made history as the first Black woman gubernatorial nominee of a major political party, lost to Republican Brian Kemp by less than 55,000 votes in the Peach State’s gubernatorial election. The media darling has repeatedly insisted her defeat was unfair and rigged by voter suppression.
She announced last month she would run again, setting up a potential rematch with Kemp. Kemp is facing a primary challenge from former Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga.
Fox News’ Edmund DeMarche and Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
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