Longtime Mall Santa Replaced After Wearing Trump 2020 Hat
WAYCROSS, Ga. (CBS Local) -- Santa Claus is looking for a new gig after a mall in southeast Georgia pulled him for wearing a Trump 2020 hat while on duty.
Frank Skinner has played Santa Claus every Christmas for nearly 50 years, including the past 14 years at The Mall at Waycross Shopping Center in Waycross, Georgia.
Skinner said the mall was closing and no children were around last week when he decided to switch hats and pose wearing the Trump hat for fun.
"It really was an innocent thing. It really was," he told WTVL-WJXX.
A Santa Claus at a southeast Georgia shopping center is looking for a new job after the manager at the Mall of Waycross said he was seen wearing a Trump 2020 hat while working.
Posted by 10 Tampa Bay on Saturday, December 7, 2019
Skinner believes someone saw the photo on his Facebook page and sent it to mall management.
"It's safe to say he will not be wearing this hat around here," mall manager James White said Friday. "This particular Santa has been replaced."
In a lengthy post on his personal Facebook page, Skinner said he had no intention of offending anyone and has learned a serious lesson.
"At the time I thought it was harmless fun," Skinner wrote. "Now I realize in this day and age that I should not have posted it. Obviously, it did offend some folks. I can assure everyone that was not my intent. I have learned a lot from this. Going forward I will keep this in mind."