Providence Reporter

Gov. Gina Raimondo isn’t practicing what she preaches. After ordering bars to be closed and requiring masks, she attended a social event at a bar and was seen taking off her mask.

“But despite the fact that she was aware that her health director has COVID, her guidelines tell people only to go out for essential services, her mandates require no entertainment activities, bar areas have to be closed, businesses are shut down, and you must socially distance yourself from non-family members, Gina went out on Friday night with her husband to a bar called Barnaby’s in Providence and was seen sitting at the bar, drinking wine without a mask on as part of a ‘paint and wine’ event,” a blogger known as “Uncle Turtleboy” posted.

Despite tweeting reminders to residents of the orders regarding the closures of recreational and entertainment activities, she then went to a wine and painting event with her husband four days after the reminder.

“It’s week two of our pause,” Raimondo tweeted on Dec. 7. “I know it's been hard, but I want to thank every Rhode Islander who's following our guidance. Please, stay home except for essential activities & wear a mask anytime you’re with people you don’t live with. Together, we can turn our case numbers around.”

Raimondo was very clear that restaurants were not allowed to operate any recreation or entertainment activities and that they must restrict access to those areas on site.

The server/instructor that waited on Raimondo and her husband took a selfie with her and shared it on social media, confirming that Raimondo had violated her own rules.

“Me teaching Gina and her husband at my Paint and Wine(.) I can’t believe she stopped by … I was so nervous lol” the server/instructor posted, MTC TV reported.

Raimondo was also spotted several months before the incident not wearing her mask after telling everyone else to.

“In a country worth fighting for the people would have nothing but contempt and hatred for elected officials like this, and would actively revolt against them,” Uncle Turtleboy wrote in his blog. “But Gina Raimondo does this because she knows she has the population pacified. She is a Democrat in a state where Democrats cannot lose statewide election, therefore she can do whatever she wants without losing political capital.”