Eric Garcetti: I Held My Breath During My Maskless Photo with Magic Johnson
Los Angeles Mayor — and Biden Administration ambassadorial nominee — Eric Garcetti today defended his actions after maskless photos surfaced of him and Lakers great Magic Johnson, along with San Francisco Mayor London Breed, at SoFi Stadium last weekend for the NFC Championship game.
Johnson later tweeted a series of photos from the event featuring himself and a number of others in a luxury box overlooking the field. They included Garcetti, Breed and California Governor Gavin Newsom. None of them are wearing masks in the photos, despite a local public health officer order requiring attendees to wear masks at all times during so-called outdoor “mega events,” except when “actively eating or drinking.” Johnson is in a high risk group for Covid, given his HIV status and age.
Today, at an afternoon press conference to go over safety and security for next week’s Super Bowl, which is also to be held at SoFi, Garcetti said he held his breath to take the photo.
“I’ll take personal responsibility,” said Garcetti in answer to a reporter’s question about the photos, “and if it makes you and everyone else happy — or even the photographs with people where literally I’m holding my breath for two seconds — I won’t even do that.”
He did not inhale.
I hope this controversy does not interfere with his potential ambassadorship. I want him gone.
As if Garcetti leaving will change anything. All those running to replace him (that have a chance) will be no different.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 2/3/2022 @ 8:45 amConsidering that Magic has a compromised immune system, this is pretty stupid on his part.
Kevin M (38e250) — 2/3/2022 @ 8:45 amAs if Garcetti leaving will change anything. All those running to replace him (that have a chance) will be no different.
Rick Caruso would be different.
Kevin M (38e250) — 2/3/2022 @ 8:46 amAssuming Caruso runs……The last millionaire mayor (Richard Riordan) couldn’t get the City Council to follow him.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 2/3/2022 @ 9:13 amWill billionaire businessman Rick Caruso run for L.A. mayor, and could he win?
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 2/3/2022 @ 9:22 amI liked Newsom’s response. He laughed as he lied. He probably also lied about Magic wanting a photo with him.
These are truly awful people. They lie, they accept corruption, they send money meant for poor and homeless to crony non profits, consultants where the money is squandered in return for pennies on the dollar in donations to their campaign funds, to their own non-profits.
People like these are why I have a hard time getting too excited about Trump.
steveg (e81d76) — 2/3/2022 @ 9:23 amFrom the link in #5:
Caruso was also on the USC Board of Trustees while sexual abuses were being committed by a student health center gynecologist (payouts topped $1B), drug parties by the medical school dean, and the Varsity Blue admission scandals. A lot of explaining to do.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 2/3/2022 @ 9:33 amGarcetti said he held his breath to take the photo.
Not long enough.
nk (1d9030) — 2/3/2022 @ 9:33 amNewsom visited LA to see the train robbery sites and noted it looked like a third world s#!hole. Smells like one too.
Garcetti is auditioning for the “Vannah” Jackson part in a remake of “Waiting to Exhale”
steveg (e81d76) — 2/3/2022 @ 9:37 amNot long enough.
Not nearly.
Kevin M (38e250) — 2/3/2022 @ 9:42 amLOL. All’s forgiven. Because he’s on the right side of the political aisle.
I said it before, but the camera during the game cut to several celebrities who espouse liberal causes and Democratic politicians and none of them were wearing masks.
I’m shocked too! Floored!
Hoi Polloi (15cfac) — 2/3/2022 @ 9:57 amGarcetti seems like the kind of guy who would wear a mask during his bubble bath
steveg (e81d76) — 2/3/2022 @ 10:21 amI think I’ve mentioned this before, but I have some friends (wealthy people who work in the tech sector and generally vote center-left, huge on social justice nonsense but leery of high taxes and government regulation) who absolutely love Garcetti and think he’s going to be President someday (in fairness, though, it’s been a few years since we’ve discussed these matters and perhaps their opinion of him has been downgraded). I never understood the appeal, except for the fact that Garcetti checked all of the boxes that makes a pampered progressive’s heart swoon: multi-ethnic (part Mexican, part Russian Jew, part Italian), educated at tony private institutions (Harvard-Westlake Academy, Columbia University, Rhoades Scholar at Oxford), and an adjunct college professor before he launched his political career. To my friends, he is one of their own: all of the trendy and de rigueur lefty social beliefs, and someone who passes as being dedicated to solving intractable social problems without threatening the comfy advantages that the progressive gentry has accrued. He’s a lot like Barack Obama in that regard.
Anyway, Garcetti will go to India and burnish his foreign policy chops and then come back home and, I don’t know, perhaps make a run for Dianne Feinstein’s Senate seat when she ascends to the Great Hair Salon in the Sky. Then maybe come 2032 when he has just turned 61 he’ll be tromping around in the snows of New Hampshire telling folks clad in plaid at diners that he has what it takes to turn-out the malaise after the crazy eight-year Presidency of Tulsi Gabbard.
(Yeah, I wrote all of that just as a build up to my fervent wish to see a Little Aloha Sweetie Administration.)
JVW (ee64e4) — 2/3/2022 @ 11:00 amAnd by the way, I think our host is quite mean to be pointing out the foibles of the Mayor of the great city of Los Angeles on the day before the guy’s 51st birthday.
JVW (ee64e4) — 2/3/2022 @ 11:01 amLos Angeles is a sewer with zip codes.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 2/3/2022 @ 11:25 amShe better ____ or get off the pot party-wise. She could be a plausible Trump VP, that would be her shot.
urbanleftbehind (6a53bd) — 2/3/2022 @ 12:04 pmI attended the Chargers-Giants game at SOFI in December. Had to show a negative test or vaccine card to get in & they gave everyone a mask upon entering. Nobody wore the mask except employees & security. I put mine in my pocket–nobody said anything.
Bill Serra (4ee4d2) — 2/3/2022 @ 12:41 pmYikes! When even Chris Cillizza over at CNN is ridiculing your position it becomes clear that your progressive privilege has its limits:
And then to be compared unfavorably to Gavin Newsom in terms of candor? Ouch. Just ouch.
As we’ve said before, the real problem isn’t that Garcetti or Newsom think they aren’t susceptible to getting COVID or that the rules apply to the little people and not to them. The real problem is that deep down inside both Garcetti and Newsom believe that wearing silly cloth masks in a semi-indoor/semi-outdoor environment almost two years into the pandemic and a full year removed from the availability of vaccines is largely performative and mostly unnecessary. If they weren’t such insincere politicians, they would either mask up for the entire game or they would advocate for ending mask mandates in semi-outdoor settings where proof of vaccination is already required.
JVW (ee64e4) — 2/3/2022 @ 2:34 pmBoJo is having the same problems.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 2/3/2022 @ 6:05 pm