Elected officials pushing for stringent COVID-19-related restrictions are proving to be among the biggest violators of rules they impose on constituents.
On Monday, reports broke that San Francisco Mayor London Breed traveled to ritzy Napa Valley restaurant The French Laundry three days before local government outlawed indoor dining in the city. The French Laundry is considered one of the most exclusive — and expensive — restaurants in the world.
And the Michelin-starred food haven attracted politicians beyond Breed, with fellow Democrat California Gov. Gavin Newsom enjoying a meal there just weeks prior with seemingly dozens of other guests, many of whom appeared to be lobbyists and supporters. California has some of the strictest coronavirus protocols in the country, with Newsom going as far at one point to recommend that diners wear masks in between taking bites at meals.
Newsom later apologized after getting caught, calling the incident a “bad mistake.”
“We’re all human,” Newsom said on Nov. 17. “We all fall short sometimes.”
Newsom wasn’t the only politician to fall short. In September, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi found herself in hot water after leaked security camera footage spotted her walking through a San Francisco salon without a mask, even as local regulations banned indoor haircuts. The California Democrat responded to the incident by implying that the whole thing was a setup and that the salon owner deliberately wanted to make her look like a hypocrite.
“I take responsibility for trusting the word of a neighborhood salon that I’ve been to over the years many times and that when they said that we’re able to accommodate people, one person at a time, and that we can set up that time, I trusted that,” Pelosi said, adding later that the salon “owed her an apology.”
Then there’s Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who was caught getting a haircut in the midst of her new stay-at-home order. Her explanation? The public needs to make sure she looks presentable.
“I’m the public face of this city, and you know, I’m a person who [takes] personal hygiene very seriously, and I felt like I needed to have a haircut,” the mayor said in April. “So I got a haircut.”
And while several people were stuck home alone on Thanksgiving or risked a knock from the police on the door because they decided to have some family in, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo thought the rules limiting guests this holiday didn’t apply to him. After pleading with New Yorkers for weeks not to travel for Thanksgiving, he later admitted that both his mother and daughters would make the trip up to the Governor’s Mansion to enjoy a nice, home-cooked meal. After pushback from across the political spectrum, Cuomo axed those plans, leaving his nearly 90-year-old mother alone.
Then again, Cuomo wouldn’t have been alone. Denver Mayor Michael Hancock, after weeks of telling residents to “stay home as much as you can” and to “host virtual gatherings instead of in-person dinners,” decided to fly over 1,200 miles to Mississippi to be with his family on Thanksgiving.
Neither Cuomo nor Hancock went as far as Austin Mayor Steve Adler, who crossed national lines for Thanksgiving by staying at his timeshare in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. At the very least, he reportedly flew private with eight other family members as guests.
“I fully acknowledge that I have urged everyone to stay home and avoid unnecessary travel,” Hancock wrote after his plans drew outrage. “I have shared how my family canceled our plans for our traditional multi-household Thanksgiving celebration. What I did not share, but should have, is that my wife and my daughter have been in Mississippi, where my daughter recently took a job. As the holiday approached, I decided it would be safer for me to travel to see them than to have two family members travel back to Denver.”
One way to avoid lockdown policies is to say one is engaging in a protest or political event, at least if the person is Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser. Earlier this month, she traveled to President-elect Joe Biden’s victory speech in Delaware, a state considered “high risk” for the coronavirus. That trip, according to her office, was considered essential travel and part of her duties as mayor.
All these incidents, and more, gave White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany fuel during her attacks on Democratic hypocrisy over coronavirus regulations.
“Democrats seek control,” she said during a Tuesday briefing. “These images behind me make clear Democrats’ mindset: Rules for thee, but not for me.”
