U.S. Sen. David Perdue mocked Jon Ossoff’s visit to a vegan restaurant over the weekend with a picture of his recent Waffle House feast. The Democrat on Sunday launched a TV ad featuring a rural restaurateur who slams the Republican’s handling of the pandemic.
The minute-long ad spotlights Marilyn Crimes, the owner of Mom’s Kitchen in the southwest Georgia town of Preston. She nods to recent reports about Perdue’s well-timed stock transactions and hands-on approach to his investments as the coronavirus wreaked havoc on the economy.
“Instead of him being concerned about us, he’s off selling stocks. We had no idea we’d have to close our businesses off, lose caterings, and so many people died,” she said. “And then when we needed help the most, he fought against the stimulus checks and cut unemployment insurance.”
Nathan Brand of the National Republican Senatorial Committee accused Ossoff of “bashing” the Paycheck Protection Program “even as his dad benefited from it” and pointed to his remarks Sunday on CNN that “malpractice for politicians” to ignore advice from public health experts if they encourage stronger efforts to contain the virus.
Ossoff was critical of federal dollars going “overwhelmingly to the highest earners” that Democrats dubbed a “slush fund” but he didn’t oppose the overall stimulus program.
Perdue spokesman John Burke said the Republican helped save “countless small businesses” from the pandemic’s fallout and said he was “cleared of any wrongdoing” by investigators.
The ad airs as Ossoff aims to steer the focus in the Jan. 5 runoffs to decide control of the U.S. Senate toward what he and fellow Democrat Raphael Warnock cast as the GOP’s failure to contain the surging pandemic.
Perdue’s campaign has blamed Democrats for gridlock in Washington over the next round of coronavirus relief, and insisted he doesn’t handle day-to-day decisions of his portfolio.
The New York Times reported last week he directed an adviser to sell of at least $1 million in stocks for the Cardlytics financial firm after he received an email about “upcoming changes” from a company executive. Investigators ultimately declined to pursue charges and closed the case this summer.
The ad comes a day after Perdue’s campaign poked fun of Ossoff’s visit on Small Business Saturday to the Slutty Vegan, a popular Black-owned eatery in southwest Atlanta.
“Ossoff can have the plant burger, we’ll take the all-star special,” read the tweet, captioning a picture of Perdue and his wife Bonnie enjoying a Waffle House spread. “Pick your side, Georgia.”
Ossoff’s campaign responded with a jab about Perdue’s refusal to participate in next week’s Atlanta Press Club debate.
“There’s only one candidate too scared to debate,” wrote his campaign. “Georgia, make your choice.”
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