Former President Barack Obama turns 60 Wednesday and will celebrate his big birthday Friday with a lavish blowout on Martha’s Vineyard.
The soirée will be served by 200 — yes, 200 — staff and include liberal icons George Clooney, Steven Spielberg, Oprah Winfrey and more. Nearly 500 people are expected.
The party will be held at the sprawling 30-acre oceanfront compound Obama purchased in 2019 for $12 million. The Obamas vacationed on the exclusive island throughout his presidency.
Held outside, the party will reportedly follow all CDC public health protocols, require all guests to be vaccinated and tested prior to arrival, and have a “safety coordinator” on hand.
Asked Monday by Fox News’ Peter Doocy if Obama was setting the wrong example, Press Secretary Jen Psaki, who also served in the White House during Obama’s presidency, gruffly replied.
“I would note first that former President Obama has been a huge advocate of individuals getting vaccinated. This event, according to all the public reporting, is outdoors and in a moderate zone. But in addition, there is testing requirements and other steps they are taking,” she said.
Martha’s Vineyard is currently designated as an area of “moderate” COVID-19 community spread, and the local infection rate is categorized as “substantial.”
The Vineyard is near Provincetown, site of a large outbreak of so-called breakthrough cases among vaccinated people after a July 4 celebration at the popular LGBT tourist destination; that event prompted the CDC’s controversial decision to change its masking recommendations.
Matthew Kolten from the American Immigration Lawyers Association tweeted, “I’ll never forget the packed church for John Lewis at the height of the pandemic while I wasn’t able to have friends and family attend my wife’s funeral. The ruling class NEVER plays by the rules that only apply to the little people.”
I'll never forget the packed church for John Lewis at the height of the pandemic while I wasn't able to have friends and family attend my wife's funeral.
The ruling class NEVER plays by the rules that only apply to the little people.https://t.co/QIxX61xwxR
— Matthew Kolken (@mkolken) August 2, 2021
A scan of Twitter feedback shows most left-wingers argue Obama is fine because they claim Republican Govs. Greg Abbott and Ron DeSantis are happily killing people.
But some progressives are more skeptical.
“Even if the outdoor event is safe, the prospect of well-connected Democrats partying while ordinary Americans contemplate rising hospitalizations, mask mandates, and even renewed lockdowns is unseemly,” George Washington University professor Samuel Goldman wrote in The Week. “Public health hypocrisy isn’t the only problem. Obama is just the most recent president who adopted a plutocratic lifestyle after leaving office, partly at public expense.”
Mark Jacobson, assistant dean at Syracuse University, called Obama “tone deaf” and criticized his leadership.
Sorry Mr President @BarackObama – my kid would like a big birthday bash too – but this is tone deaf and we need some more leadership from influencers like you. https://t.co/UFqd7yiPXB
— Mark R. Jacobson (@markondefense) August 2, 2021
The former president does not want gifts; instead, attendees are asked to give to programs supporting “people of color” or that “empower adolescent girls” around the world.
Update: While a spokeswoman for the former president said Wednesday the Obamas “decided to significantly scale back the event to include only family and close friends,” this turned out to be false. A massive throng of elite hypocrites — many maskless — arrived via private jet for this latest “do as I say, not as I do” leftist duplicity.
A.J. Kaufman
A.J. Kaufman is an Alpha News columnist. His work has appeared in the Baltimore Sun, Florida Sun-Sentinel, Indianapolis Star, Israel National News, Orange County Register, St. Cloud Times, Star-Tribune, and across AIM Media Midwest and the Internet. Kaufman previously worked as a school teacher and military historian.
