Politicians Breaking Covid-19 Protocol
The fact that politicians lie is nothing new. It can be difficult to make good on campaign promises while in office for reasons politicians can’t always control. There is a big difference for a politician between not getting things done due to a lack of control and blatantly going against what they say.
Life as we know it has been disrupted due to the Covid-19 pandemic, this is old news at this point. Politicians are constantly telling the public what they can and cannot do, especially during the Covid era. There have been many intense lockdowns and restrictions over the past nine months or so that the public has to follow. Some politicians have chosen to do the opposite of what they have expressed, however.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi received a lot of criticism at the beginning of September for being caught on video without a mask in a hair salon. The salon was open, but only for outdoor service. Pelosi was seen inside of the salon. Salon owner Erica Kious said “It was a slap in the face that she went in, you know, that she feels that she can just go and get her stuff done while no one else can go in, and I can’t work” (Fox).
California Governor Gavin Newsom also received plenty of criticism for breaking Covid-19 protocol. In November, pictures came out of Newsom eating at a restaurant. There are no masks in sight and the attendees are not socially distant. Prior to this event, he had been publicly talking about slowing the spread in California (Fox 11).
Steve Adler, the Mayor of Austin, TX, traveled to Mexico in November. During his trip, he said “We need to stay home if you can. This is not the time to relax. We are going to be looking really closely…We may have to close things down if we are not careful.” He did not reveal that during the video he was in Mexico. Adler said in a statement that while his trip technically didn’t violate an order, he felt that he had set a bad example (AAS).
Politicians on both sides of the aisle have broken protocol at different times. These are just a few examples of some of the more popular instances in which the Covid-19 protocols were broken. Here is an interactive map that shows where and how a variety of politicians have broken Covid-19 protocol: https://www.heritage.org/data-visualizations/public-health/covid-hypocrisy-policymakers-breaking-their-own-rules/
Melugin, Bill, and Shelly Insheiwat. “FOX 11 Obtains Exclusive Photos of Gov. Newsom at French Restaurant Allegedly Not Following COVID-19 Protocols.” FOX 11 Los Angeles, FOX 11 Los Angeles, 19 Nov. 2020, http://www.foxla.com/news/fox-11-obtains-exclusive-photos-of-gov-newsom-at-french-restaurant-allegedly-not-following-covid-19-protocols.
Plohetski, Tony. “Austin Mayor Was Vacationing in Cabo When He Said Residents ‘Need to Stay Home’.” Statesman, Austin American-Statesman, 4 Dec. 2020, http://www.statesman.com/story/news/coronavirus/2020/12/02/austin-mayor-stressed-residents-lsquoneed-to-stay-homersquo-he-was-vacationing-in-cabo-at-time/115087704/.
Singman, Brooke. “Pelosi Used Shuttered San Francisco Hair Salon for Blow-out, Owner Calls It ‘Slap in the Face’.” Fox News, FOX News Network, 2 Sept. 2020, http://www.foxnews.com/politics/pelosi-san-francisco-hair-salon-owner-calls-it-slap-in-the-face.