Georgia GOP Sen. David Perdue grabbed a Georgia Tech student's phone mid-question. Theft or aborted selfie?

(Image credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

last updated 15 October 2018

A student at Georgia Tech tried to confront Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.) about his support for the gubernatorial bid of Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp (R) on Saturday, and specifically Kemp's controversial voter-registration policies, but he did not get past "Hey, so how can you endorse a candidate ..."

The video, posted by the Young Democratic Socialists of America at Georgia Tech, shows Perdue telling the unidentified student, "No, I'm not doing that. I'm not doing that," then grabbing the phone. After the student asked for his phone back several times, it was returned. "The senator clearly thought he was being asked to take a picture, and he went to take a selfie as he often does," Perdue spokeswoman Casey Black said. "When he realized they didn't actually want to take a picture, he gave the phone back."

The student and his group obviously saw things differently. "Perdue walked into Georgia Tech's backyard, and students aren't allowed to ask him a simple question?" YDSAGT asked in a statement. "Perdue would have been within his legal rights to simply walk away or decline the question. But instead, he forcibly, suddenly, and violently took their phone without justification or provocation." If the student had "snatched a sitting U.S. senator's phone," for a selfie or whatever, the group noted, he "would likely have been arrested on the spot." The video "cuts briefly for a few seconds when Perdue accidentally stopped and restarted the recording, during which time Perdue hid the phone behind his back while the student demanded their phone be returned," YDSAGT added.

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Perdue is not up for re-election this year, but Kemp is in a tight race with Democrat Stacey Abrams and Perdue has been campaigning for him and other Republicans before the midterm elections.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.