North Carolina Republican senator is caught not wearing a mask at Donald Trump's White House speech and admits he took it off after posting a covered-up picture to followers

Republican Sen. Thom Tillis got caught red-faced posing for a photo on social media in a mask and then seated in the audience of President Donald Trump's White House speech bare-faced. 

'I've stressed the importance of mask wearing throughout this pandemic and have tried to lead by example on this issue, but last night I fell short of my own standard,' Tillis said in a statement Friday, according to McClatchy. 

Tillis, who is facing a tough re-election battle in North Carolina, tweeted a photo of himself in front of the large crowd, which was not following social distancing protocols, wearing a Navy blue mask. 

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Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican facing a tough re-election fight, posted a photo to Twitter showing him at President Donald Trump's White House speech wearing a mask 

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On Friday, Tillis had to issue a statement saying he had 'fell short of my own standard' after cameras caught him sitting bare-faced among Trump's audience members 

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His Democratic opponent, Cal Cunningham, blasted Tillis for being two-faced, saying that he's 'Mr. Independent' when he's on camera, but 'Mr. Go With The Crowd,' when he thinks the cameras are off 

'I am honored to be in Washington for President Trump's acceptance speech for the GOP nomination where he will share with America our continued vision of freedom, prosperity, and opportunity to live the American Dream,' Tillis tweeted with the photo. 

But crowd footage of the event showed Tillis seated, clearly not wearing his mask. 

A number of Twitter users posted the footage as a reply to Tillis' tweet.  

On Friday, his Democratic opponent, Cal Cunningham, went after Tillis for being two-faced. 

'Sen. Thom Tillis criticized folks for not wearing masks, until Washington Republicans were the culprits. His attendance last night shows North Carolinians that the rules don’t apply to his colleagues in Washington - and that his talk about fighting this pandemic is just that: talk,' Cunningham wrote in one tweet. 

In another, Cunningham said that when Tillis is on camera he's 'Mr. Independent.' 

'When he thinks the cameras are off [he's] "Mr. Go With the Crowd,"' Cunningham wrote. 

'Why? He's too weak to show North Carolinians his true character,' the Democrat said. 'Plain and simple: he's a follower, not a leader.'