Several Democrats who have insisted on strict stay-at-home orders — including the wearing of face masks when out of doors — have been caught violating the rules that they wish to impose on others for fear of spreading the coronavirus.
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D), who has suggested he might make wearing face masks mandatory, was spotted on the boardwalk in Virginia Beach on Saturday — without a mask.
The Daily Beast quoted a spokesperson for the governor, who tried to help him save face:
Alena Yarmosky, a spokeswoman for the Democratic governor—a physician who has repeatedly urged Virginians to wear face coverings in public—said he was “outside yesterday and not expecting to be within six feet of anyone. This is an important reminder to always have face coverings in case situations change,” adding, “we are all learning how to operate in this new normal, and it’s important to be prepared.”
However, the governor was pictured taking selfies with beachgoers — at far closer range than six feet:
The spokseperson also said that Northam simply wanted to make sure his social distancing rules were being enforced.
In Texas, former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX) mocked Gov. Greg Abbott for opening the state:
However, Jeff Roe, who managed Sen. Ted Cruz’s (R-TX) presidential campaign in 2016, posted a photo of a man who appeared to be O’Rourke, jogging without a mask:
Last week, local reporters discovered that construction workers were traveling to Wisconsin to work on Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s horse farm, in apparent violation of his own stay-at-home rules.
Pritzker noted that construction is an essential industry, though he did not explain why the workers’ cross-border travel was essential. Pritzker’s wife has also traveled to the family horse farm in Florida; when caught, Pritzker demanded reporters respect his family’s privacy.
Earlier this month, photographs emerged of first-term Rep. Harley Rouda (D-CA) on a private beach in Orange County, California, after he said that it was “reckless” for local authorities to allow ordinary people to go to public beaches.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). His new book, RED NOVEMBER, is available for pre-order. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.