Patterico's Pontifications

11/23/2020

More ‘Do As I Say and Not As I Do’ With White House Holiday Party In The Works (ADDED)

Filed under: General — Dana @ 12:10 pm



[guest post by Dana]

Despite California’s Gov. Newsom continuing to reel from criticism for his ill-advised decision to violate state Covid-19 guidelines when he and a large party ate indoors at a local eating establishment and Speaker Pelosi forced to seriously scale back plans for an indoor dinner reception for new members at the Capitol because of criticism, the White House seems intent on violating its own guidelines by hosting a holiday party:

Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams, a member of the White House coronavirus task force, cautioned against holiday gatherings on Good Morning America on Monday and said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines apply to everyone, including the Trump administration, as First Lady Melania Trump is already planning a holiday reception and the White House outbreak continues to grow.

When asked about the White House’s holiday plans, which will likely be large and indoors, Adams urged all Americans to have small and “smart” celebrations and said the nation is at a “dire point” in the pandemic with increased cases, hospitalizations and deaths.

Adams said he wants everyone to know that holiday parties risk becoming superspreader events and directed people to the CDC’s guidelines for holiday events, which he said apply to everyone, including people at the White House.

Mrs. Trump has already sent out invitations to the soiree slated for Nov. 30. Her spokeswoman, Stephanie Grisham said that precautions were being taken to ensure a safe party:

The White House gatherings are scheduled to begin later this month, soon after the Thanksgiving holiday may give rise to another dangerous COVID-19 surge.

This year’s events will take place at least partly indoors, on the State Floor, according to Grisham, who added that there are “smaller guest lists” and that “masks will be required and available,” with social distancing measures encouraged and hand sanitizer stations posted throughout.

“Guests will enjoy food individually plated by chefs at plexiglass-protected food stations,” Grisham added. “All passed beverages will be covered. All service staff will wear masks and gloves to comply with food-safety guidelines.”

“Attending the parties will be a very personal choice,” Grisham said. “It is a longstanding tradition for people to visit and enjoy the cheer and iconic decor of the annual White House Christmas celebrations.”

Politicians seem to believe that they alone are exempt from the rules that they establish and expect the rest of us to follow. We know that our personal decisions regarding Covid-19 should not be based on the foolish actions of the do as I say, not as I do crowd, whether they are medical professionals or elected officials:

If public health experts elected officials turn on a dime, and suddenly minimize the importance of public health measures they advocated until yesterday, it doesn’t mean public health measures are unnecessary. It means those particular “experts”elected officials are unreliable and you should not listen to them.

ADDED: Count New York’s Gov. Cuomo among the elected leaders who didn’t consider the optics in having his elderly mother travel to his home for the holiday dinner:

On Monday afternoon, Cuomo indicated he would be having a small dinner when asked about his plans in an interview on a local radio station.

“The story is, my mom is going to come up and two of my girls, but the plans change,” Cuomo told WAMC radio, the NPR affiliate in New York’s Capital Region.

A few hours later, Rich Azzopardi, a senior adviser to the governor, told Insider the dinner is off.

“As the Governor said, ‘The story is my mom is going to come up and two of my girls is the current plan, but the plans change. That’s my plan. I’m going to work — I’ve got a lot of work to do between now and Thanksgiving,’ and given the current circumstances with COVID, he will have to work through Thanksgiving and will not be seeing them,” Azzopardi told Insider in a statement early Monday evening.

He added: “Don’t tell his mom — she doesn’t know yet.”

The internet was quick to dunk on Cuomo, given how much he’s been telling New Yorkers to stay home and forsake a normal Thanksgiving due to the coronavirus pandemic and cases surging nationally.

In the Empire State, people are required to limit gatherings to no more than 10 people. While Cuomo’s gathering of four would not violate any rules, the age of his mother and the notion that he would still proceed with a holiday dinner angered people online.

–Dana

37 Responses to “More ‘Do As I Say and Not As I Do’ With White House Holiday Party In The Works (ADDED)”

  1. Both sides of the aisle are playing this game, and I’m annoyed.

    Dana (6995e0)

  2. I don’t think it’s fair to accuse the Trump white house of hypocrisy, it’s hard to believe that he’d either listen to advice he didn’t like or try to lead by example.

    Time123 (653992)

  3. it’s hard to believe that he’d either listen to advice he didn’t like or try to lead by example.

    Remember, it’s not just advice he didn’t like – it’s advice from his own White House.

    Dana (6995e0)

  4. Freedom of ‘personal’ choice: so Melania sent out invites; attendance isn’t mandatory. And at this point, it doesn’t matter if you kiss the Captain’s butt under the mistletoe or not.

    Unless, of course, enough electors flip. 😉

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  5. Seems on-brand.

    Nic (896fdf)

  6. Call it a Biden victory party so that the hypocrisy can be ignored.

    beer ‘n pretzels (042d67)

  7. it’s hard to believe that he’d either listen to advice he didn’t like or try to lead by example.

    Remember, it’s not just advice he didn’t like – it’s advice from his own White House.

    Dana (6995e0) — 11/23/2020 @ 12:27 pm

    Hasn’t it been a consistent theme in the CV19 response that he doesn’t listen to the advice of people who work for him?

    Time123 (653992)

  8. From H.L.Mencken –
    “The men the American people admire most extravagantly are the most daring liars; the men they detest most violently are those who try to tell them the truth.”

    John B Boddie (d795fd)

  9. Call it a Biden victory party so that the hypocrisy can be ignored.

    Good to see you agree that it’s hypocrisy.

    Dana (6995e0)

  10. Gavin got caught toggling his dimmer switch in public, although to be fair his switch seems only to toggle between dim and completely off. Hopefully Biden will appoint Newsom as Ambassador to France or somewhere else overseas

    Trump has consistently been anti mask and was not a lockdown fan so its hard to label him a hypocrite or even personally inconsistent on this issue. The WH and Trump have been consistent in the sense that the WH can put out messages, but don’t expect Trump to follow along. I guess you could say that I think Trump is a considerable fan of his own freedom to do whatever the heck he wants.

    steveg (43b7a5)

  11. I guess you could say that I think Trump is a considerable fan of his own freedom to do whatever the heck he wants.

    steveg (43b7a5) — 11/23/2020 @ 1:52 pm

    Many women who didn’t find trump attractive, some underage in a dressing room, would definitely agree with you!

    Dustin (4237e0)

  12. Michigan board votes to certify the state’s election results, dealing Trump another blow

    The vote was 3-0-1. At this rate, it will be a very sad Trumpsgiving and even a worse Christmas. Trump will only get a lump of coal from the voters.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  13. Hey, President Trump is, unfortunately, leaving office, so what does he care? The odious Governor Newsom, on the other hand, will remain in office to saddle Californians with more authoritarian decrees.

    The Dana in Kentucky (facd7c)

  14. Hey, President Trump is, unfortunately, leaving office, so what does he care?

    So what you’re saying is, nothing’s changed. He doesn’t care, he hasn’t cared, and he won’t care.

    Dana (6995e0)

  15. Trump, Pelosi and Newsom have all demonstrated their own brand of hypocrisy regarding Covid-19 guidelines, as noted in the post.

    Dana (6995e0)

  16. The much nicer Dana wrote:

    Hey, President Trump is, unfortunately, leaving office, so what does he care?

    So what you’re saying is, nothing’s changed. He doesn’t care, he hasn’t cared, and he won’t care.

    He cared about being re-elected, and that didn’t happen.

    We can argue about whether he cared about the country, but, to me, it was his policies that I mostly supported. Now we will have gotten rid of him, and the only price that we’ll have to pay will be in greatly weakened immigration control, higher taxes, liberal judges given lifetime appointments, the normalization of ‘transgenderism’ and the destruction of women’s sports, a foreign policy hostile to Israel and more supportive of the Palestinians and Islamist fanatics, increased controls on the public, restrictions on our First and Second Amendment rights and ridiculous and expensive projects to reduce global warming climate change.

    The conservatives who supported Joe Biden because President Trump is an [insert slang term for the rectum here] are going to spend the next four years with gaping and bloody wounds on their faces where their noses used to be.

    The Dana in Kentucky (facd7c)

  17. Too bad the right to vote isn’t still restricted to white male property-holders, right Dana in Kentucky? Maybe we’d still have “Trump’s policies” if that were the case.

    Leviticus (fe281f)

  18. Now that those mean people are not annoying Melania with kids in cages, she can focus on the Christmas decorations. Well, kind of, anyway:
    “Breathe in, breathe out, left foot, right foot, ooh shiny, put on tree, breathe in, breathe out, left foot ….”

    nk (1d9030)

  19. I seriously wonder who her protector(s) was/were before Trump, because there’s no way she found her way to America from Slovenia on her own. No way.

    nk (1d9030)

  20. @20. Are you kidding? She was a ‘model’ citizen 😉 :

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melania_Trump

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  21. Metropolitan Models co-owner Paolo Zampolli, a friend of her future husband Donald Trump, who was on a scouting trip in Europe. Zampolli urged her to travel to the U.S., where he said he would like to represent her.[17] In 1996, Knauss moved to Manhattan.[17][36][35][38] He arranged for her to share an apartment with photographer Matthew Atanian in Zeckendorf Towers in Union Square.[17]

    Thanks, DCSCA!

    nk (1d9030)

  22. Why not? We’re all in this together. This is REAL regardless what you think. If everyone followed the precautions this would all over sooner than later.

    Starc (90ac05)

  23. It’s time to join the New Resistance. We can change the world. We can save the children. We can make it happen.

    Ag80 (eb6ffa)

  24. I can’t say I have a problem with Cuomo eating dinner with 3 family members, esp if they have all been v. careful so that they don’t end up giving his mother the virus. My brother and I have been working from home and staying home for 2 weeks so that we can go to my (retired and staying home) parents for Thanksgiving (it’s driving distance for each of us, so we won’t be seeing people between either).

    Nic (896fdf)

  25. Nic,

    I don’t have a problem with it either. The problem is that these leaders are doing the very things they’re telling others not to do.

    Dana (6995e0)

  26. @26 Newsom was being a hypocrite, but Cuomo seems to have been staying within his own guidelines, so I don’t see condemning him. There’s more than enough actual hypocrisy to go around.

    Nic (896fdf)

  27. “greatly weakened immigration control, higher taxes, liberal judges given lifetime appointments, the normalization of ‘transgenderism’ and the destruction of women’s sports…”

    The problem is that little that Trump has accomplished has staying power because he never brought a convincing majority along. He simply hardened the opposition, contributed to greater polarization, and continued the illiberal practice of governing by sketchy Executive Orders and fiat. Sure, his judges will remain but his puny contribution of a wall will be his legacy. His signature policy and what do we have? He left his best deal at the table. Everyone loves tax cuts, especially the Chinese who keep owning more and more of our debt because, let’s face it, there is no plan to cut spending….there is simply not enough discretionary spending, Medicare isn’t going anywhere, and military spending has hit new heights. The GOP has lost all moral authority on the subject of fiscal retraint. Under Trump, the GOP continued to offer no new ideas on health care reform…and what would have changed in four more? How many more meaningless votes can a Party take? WEbristle at Obamacare and what exactly is our response? Nothing.

    To support Trump’s “easy” trade war with China, the GOP has to gratuitously subsidize farmers….and in the end, what do we have? What did we win? Transgenderism is the next great battle now that same sex marriage hasn’t brought the ruination of society that we were promised. This is why I needed Trump? Really!? Regulation cuts are great but are there specific ones that made so much sense that they will survive a new administration…..can we name three…if not, why not? The problem is the small bit of good achieved policy wise was set back by his, oftentimes unnecesarily, off-putting ways and inability to control his worse impulses. The GOP needs to build a strong foundation. Trump had no foundation…except drama…and now conspiracy theories. Let’s move on and try to do better….

    AJ_Liberty (a4ff25)

  28. ADDED: Count New York’s Gov. Cuomo among the elected leaders who didn’t consider the optics in having his elderly mother travel to his home for the holiday dinner:

    He knows she’s safer with him than at any NY senior living facility, thanks in part to his own directives.

    Hoi Polloi (66077a)

  29. I wonder how many people would have to die each day before high ranking Republicans actually gave a damn. Right now the weekly average is 1500+/day according to Worldometer. We go to a high 2,260/day (again as a weekly average) in April this year. I figure it’d have to at least hit 3,000 before you’d notice a certain dim anxiety start creasing their brow.

    Victor (4959fb)

  30. Powell make want to release the Kraken, Dana, but your title makes me release the 5th Grade Spelling Bee Champion. 🙂

    Paul Montagu (cbbfc4)

  31. I think Dana wanted to use Snoopdog’s term of “Holizzle.”

    felipe (023cc9)

  32. @25/26. Apparently he does- the heat was on, and not for a turkey dinner; he cancelled his Thanksgiving Day plans w/his Mom/family. More free time to polish up that Emmy. 😉

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  33. Eh, Powell make may want…
    A screenwriter friend told me that it’s verboten in his craft to make humorous or semi-humorous comments without perfect spelling and grammar.

    Paul Montagu (cbbfc4)

  34. This whole businesss of small private gatherings lasting an hour or two or three being an important vector, of the infection spreading is wrong according to a New York Times article:

    https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/23/health/coronavirus-holiday-gatherings.html

    But are dinners and backyard barbecues really the engine driving the current surge of infections? The available data do not support that contention, scientists say. Still, the idea has been repeated so often it has become conventional wisdom, leading to significant restrictions in many states…

    …“Somebody says something, and somebody else says it, and then it just becomes truth,” said Julia Marcus, an infectious disease epidemiologist at Harvard University. “I worry about this narrative that doesn’t yet seem to be data-based.”

    …In Louisiana, social events account for just 1.7 percent of the 3,300 cases for which the state has clear exposure information.

    “It’s important to give good public health advice about what’s coming in the holidays, no doubt about it,” said Dr. Tom Inglesby, director of the Center for Health Security at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. “But it is not good to suggest that they are now the preponderance of the source of spread.”

    Nobody knows how much they would contribute. The infection is all over. So it’s not something to concentrate on, epidemiologists think. I think the idea is that these gatherings can take the infection from one place and pt it in another place, even if only one new person at a time gets infected.

    The New York Tomes also reported about a college student who went to a (somewhat bigger) gathering and is dead now.

    But she was shot.

    https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/23/nyregion/shooting-brooklyn.html

    …A police official on Monday identified the woman who was killed as Daijyonna Long, 20…

    …In a news report from last week about traveling during the pandemic, Ms. Long told a television station in Virginia, WRIC, that she was planning on visiting Brooklyn to attend a relative’s birthday and for Thanksgiving.

    “It’s probably just going to be like small relatives, not a big, big party or anything,” she said in the interview. “I feel pretty confident. Yeah, I just wear my mask, stay six feet, use sanitizer all the time, and I guess I’ll be just fine.”

    She took precautions against the wrong danger.

    Sammy Finkelman (f2d620)

  35. Politicians seem to believe that they alone are exempt from the rules

    And nobody is more exempt from the virus than Rudolph Giuliani.

    Donald Trump also maybe thought he was, but he got Regeneron antibodies, which is now, after almost two months, being made available to everybody.

    Well, it’s supposed to be used only for people who have not been admitted to a hospital – get adkitted into a hospital and you are not supposed to get it any more – but whose prognosis isn’t so great, either because the doctors can see that or because of general considerations.

    Much better than hydroxychloquine. Like hydroxyxhlroquine, most useful right at the start.

    Sammy Finkelman (f2d620)

  36. Hrmph:

    The mayor of Denver told residents not to travel for Thanksgiving, just half an hour before he boarded a flight to Houston to spend the holiday with his family, according to NBC 9News in Colorado. Mayor Michael Hancock encouraged his city’s residents to “host virtual gatherings instead of in-person dinners” and “avoid travel, if you can” via Twitter on Wednesday. Shortly after, he was on a flight to Houston.

    Dana (6995e0)


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