If radical left politicians are known for anything, it is that the rules they make for the public don’t apply to them. We’ve seen it countless times with Austin Mayor Steve Adler who encouraged residents to avoid traveling after hosting an outdoor wedding for his daughter in Cabo, California Gov. Gavin Newsom who gave stay-at-home orders shortly before attending a maskless dinner party at one of the most expensive restaurants in the state, and New York Mayor Bill De Blasio who broke his own “non-essential” travel guidelines to take a walk in a park 11 miles away from his home. Rules for thee, but not for me.
And now there’s Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s top aide, Tricia Foster, who posted photos on Facebook of her and her family vacationing in Siesta Key, Florida. Siesta Keys is one of the most popular beach tourist destinations about an hour south of Tampa. The photos show Foster and her daughters not wearing masks or practicing social distancing, even though government officials are telling residents not to travel for Spring Break this year. The state of Michigan still has some of the most draconian coronavirus restrictions in the nation, even though Gov. Whitmer only has until April 30 to declare any state-of-emergency orders related to the pandemic.
The worst part is not the double standards themselves, but how the Whitmer Administration defended the story. Bobby Leddy, a spokesperson for the Whitmer administration, acknowledged that the pictures were from Foster’s FB page, but told media sources that the report was a “partisan attack from a garbage white nationalist website.” He adds that Tricia Foster has fully recovered from COVID-19 and is vaccinated. He also noted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated guidelines which say that fully vaccinated people can travel within the United States.
Foster wrote in a Facebook comment that her son had missed the trip and was “home with covid,” even though Gov. Whitmer has emphasized over the last few weeks that if any family members have tested positive for COVID-19, then they should self-quarantine and avoid travel. Leddy did not confirm whether Foster’s children had also been vaccinated before traveling.
Gov Whitmer even pointed out that those who are returning from Florida should work from home for a week and have their children learn remotely for a week. She mentioned that Florida currently has a high proportion of cases of coronavirus variants and that they are highly infectious. She adds that she has been “concerned” about travel over Spring Break, but defends Foster’s Florida trip by saying that she’s “fully recovered.” In other words, she’s acknowledging that her aide made a personal and reasonable decision for herself.
Radical left leaders think that the American people must be trapped at home because we’re not smart enough to make decisions for ourselves while letting their own families and workers travel and roam wherever they please.