Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.) — who allegedly sold stocks ahead of the coronavirus outbreak after attending closed-door congressional briefings about its looming threat — encouraged people to stay strong in a video released online Wednesday.
Loeffler talked about the “great moments that remind us we’re all humans in this together, working hard to keep each other safe, strong and healthy” in the 36-second clip.
The PSA was not well received, however.
Check out the video here:
Critics accused Loeffler, who The Daily Beast reported sold off upwards of $1 million worth of stocks (that she holds with her husband) before the markets crashed, of profiting from the private briefings from government officials.
They slammed her for failing to warn the public of the scale of the threats posed by the virus that has so far sickened more than 215,000 people nationwide and killed upwards of 5,100. They also reminded her of her initial downplaying of said threats.
The U.S. is now the world’s worst-hit country by the pandemic.
Loeffler has defended the transactions, however, tweeting that the investment decisions for her portfolio “are made by multiple third-party advisors without my or my husband’s knowledge or involvement.”
“These were completely discretionary trades at the decision of our investment managers,” Loeffler said during a CNBC interview on Friday. “We had no involvement in them, and in fact, I don’t find out about these trades until these reports are compiled at the end of the reporting period.”
Loeffler’s detractors still aren’t buying it:
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