Reports Monday that former President Barack Obama is planning to celebrate his upcoming 60th birthday at his and former first lady Michelle Obama’s mansion on Martha’s Vineyard by inviting as many as 500 guests to be tended to by 200 wait staff and servers is drawing outrage and allegations of hypocrisy as members of his Democrat Party reimpose mask mandates and social distancing requirements amid a surge of COVID-19 variant cases.
As BPR reported Monday, Martha’s Vineyard, a highly exclusive enclave of Massachusetts, is not currently experiencing a high incidence of new COVID infections related to the spread of the delta variant, but there have been some breakthrough cases in nearby Provincetown.
Nonetheless, the state of Massachusetts reimplemented COVID requirements and restrictions July 30 in response to new guidance issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that includes masking in social settings where a lot of people not of a person’s normal household are gathering, especially if they have underlying medical conditions that make them more vulnerable to the disease. And that guidance includes vaccinated residents.
Also, other Democratic leaders in East Coast cities and enclaves have followed suit, and the Biden administration has adopted the CDC’s guidance as well for federal workers and buildings.
(Video: Fox News)
On his Monday evening show, Fox News host Sean Hannity railed at the Obamas for hosting what he called a “superspreader event” at their home, despite the CDC’s updated guidance and warnings about the new delta variant and masking up, even for vaccinated people.
However, “if you’re a well-known Democrat though, the rules don’t apply to you,” Hannity said, going on to note that D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser celebrated her birthday, maskless, with friends including comedian Dave Chappelle after re-instituting a mask mandate for the city.
She “appeared to break her own coronavirus-related restrictions over the weekend, renewing her standing on the ever-growing list of ‘rules for thee, not for me’ Democrats who have faced criticism for hypocrisy over the course of the pandemic,” Fox News reported, adding: “Bowser was spotted maskless indoors less than 24 hours after her order reinstating the district’s indoor mask mandate went into effect Saturday morning for everyone over 2 years old, regardless of vaccination status.”
Let’s stay in this together, DC. By masking up, we can protect our community and keep DC open.
Read the latest mask guidance: https://t.co/PsVCaHcKad
— Mayor Muriel Bowser (@MayorBowser) July 30, 2021
After playing a clip of CNN hosts John Berman and Brianna Keilar excusing Bowser’s hypocrisy, Hannity turned his attention to Obama’s “birthday blowout,” flashing a Business Insider headline that said the party will take place “with hundreds of guests amid Delta variant concerns.”
Hannity moved on to a clip of Fox News’ White House correspondent Peter Doocy, who asked Biden administration spokeswoman Jen Psaki for her reaction to the Obamas’ birthday bash, which she essentially excused as well.
“I would note first that former President Obama has been a huge advocate of individuals getting vaccinated,” she dodged.
While all guests must test negative for COVID and be vaccinated before attending, according to reports, the mask mandate won’t apply, Psaki said, because the party will be outdoors at the Obama’s $12 million beachfront mansion.
“What CDC has provided guidance on is for indoor settings in high or substantial high zones of COVID cases. This event according to all the public reporting is outdoors and in a moderate zone,” she said.
But Doocy persisted, noting that the party could turn out to be a super spreader event in its own right.
“The guidance is about what steps people can take when they are in public settings, indoor settings specifically was the new guidance, to keep themselves and others safe,” Psaki, who worked for the Obama administration as well, repeated. “In terms of what protocols they are taking, I would refer you to them, and I’m sure they can give you more detail.”
Doocy asked if the party would nevertheless send the wrong message to ordinary Americans who are expected to follow re-imposed masking and social distancing mandates.
“We certainly advise everyone to follow public health guidelines, which, I know, the former president – who is a huge advocate of getting vaccinated, of following the guidance of public health experts – would certainly advocate for himself as well,” the White House press secretary replied.
Earlier, co-hosts of Fox News’ “The Five” also railed at the Obama hypocrisy.
Jesse Watters remarked that while a “COVID coordinator” will be present for the celebration, it will be a “useless job.”
“What are they supposed to do—shoot Eric Holder in the head with the temperature gun? ‘You can go, Eric. Sneeze downwind,'” he joked.
Responding, Greg Gutfeld said that Obama, the Democratic Party’s titular “leader,” is “leading” by demonstrating to the public that “it’s time—COVID is over and so is climate change.”
“Between 500-700 people, how many private jets will be landing at that tiny airport? We now know that—do not let the threats of impending doom keep you from your 60th birthday party,” Gutfeld said.
He added that today, the U.S. “only has laws for the law-abiding.”
“It used to be that laws were for everyone but not so anymore… We don’t have any laws anymore for people who really need them – meaning the criminals and politicians,” he continued. “So when there is a dramatic surge in crime, the instinct is to go after the criminal if you’re of common sense, but instead, they talk about creating more laws for gun crime: basically, laws that would be followed by the law-abiding.”
“So the suggestions and everything we hear, and the orders that we are given, they are for people that you know will do the right thing. But no one ever pressures the people who are doing the wrong thing to do the right: politicians and criminals, no different,” said Gutfeld.
Others also chimed in
“If the CDC doesn’t recommend Obama cancel his birthday party, don’t listen when they recommend you shut down your business. If the CDC doesn’t recommend Biden close the border, don’t listen when they recommend you close your church. The CDC’s recommendations are useless,” Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk tweeted.
“I’ll never forget the packed church for John Lewis at the height of the pandemic while I wasn’t able to have friends and family attend my wife’s funeral. The ruling class NEVER plays by the rules that only apply to the little people,” added immigration attorney Matthew Kolken.
“’This is a dangerous super-spreader event.’ ‘How can someone be so reckless?’ ‘They’re killing people.’ -The things Democrats would say if this was President Trump’s birthday party,” Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), quipped.
British journalist Piers Morgan hit on the same theme: “If Trump was hosting a massive birthday party this weekend, as America reels from the Delta COVID surge, liberals would go nuts about how selfish & reckless he was being. Why does Obama get a pass?”
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Jon is a staff writer for BizPac Review with 30 years' worth of reporting experience, as well as an author and U.S. Army veteran. He has a BA in political science from Ashford University and an MA in national security studies/intelligence analysis from American Military University.
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