IT’S MY PARTY ... and I’ll defy if I want to!
700 will be at Bam’s birthday bash — as Dems boost COV rules
Former President Barack Obama is under fire for looking to host 700 people at a star-studded 60th-birthday bash at his Martha’s Vineyard estate (above) — even as fellow Democrats boost mask rules amid the pandemic.
“Typical liberal —‘do as I say, not as I do,’ ” fumed upstate US Rep. Elise Stefanik, citing a guest list of such left-wing luminaries as George Clooney, Steven Spielberg and Oprah Winfrey.
Former President Barack Obama is creating a “nightmare” by trying to get nearly 700 people to his 60th-birthday bash on Martha’s Vineyard, a source told The Post on Monday — as news of the lavish party drew fire amid a national surge of the COVID Delta variant and new restrictions.
George Clooney, Steven Spielberg and Oprah Winfrey are among the 475 guests expected to attend the birthday party alongside about 200 hired hands.
“Democrats are imposing unscientific mask mandates while contemplating more lockdowns. Meanwhile, President Obama is hosting over 500 elites at his Martha’s Vineyard mansion,” said Rep. Elise Stefanik, chair of the House Republican Conference.
“If you or I did that it would be called a super-spreader event by the Democrats . . . Typical liberal — ‘do as I say, not as I do.’ This is what socialism looks like.”
Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-Staten Island) told The Post there’s a double standard for Democrats like Obama and that high-profile Republicans would be shamed for throwing the same kind of event.
“Just like President Obama, every American should have the right to celebrate their milestones without arbitrary government mandates and interference,” Malliotakis said. “We all know if this was President Trump the left would be screaming.”
Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) echoed the sentiment, tweeting, “Just imagine if this party was for Trump.”
Asked if Obama was “setting the wrong example about how serious COVID-19 is by hosting a big birthday party with hundreds of people,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that the venue is within a county classified by the CDC as having only moderate coronavirus transmission — although there’s an outbreak of the more contagious Delta variant nearby on Cape Cod.
“I would note first that former President Obama has been a huge advocate of individuals getting vaccinated,” Psaki told reporters at her daily press briefing.
“So people who are watching this at home and they see, well, President Obama can have a party with several hundred people — should they think that it is OK for them to have a party with several hundred people?” the reporter asked.
Psaki said, “Well, we certainly advise everyone to follow public health guidelines.”
The CDC last week urged localities to readopt indoor mask mandates in areas with “substantial” or “high” rates of COVID-19 transmission.
Meanwhile, logistics for the party — which will be outdoors at the Obamas’ $12 million, 30-acre waterfront property — is proving a “nightmare,” one staffer involved in it told The Post.
“His birthday party is insane,” the caterer said. “His bash is a nightmare to pull off this time of year on the tiny island — especially due to the lack of labor because of the coronavirus. What is he thinking?”
Last week, Martha’s Vineyard health officials urged people to wear masks when indoors as the local infection rate was categorized as “substantial,” meaning more than 50 new cases per 100,000 residents over one week.
A White House official told The Hill, “While President Biden is unable to attend this weekend, he looks forward to catching up with former President Obama soon and properly welcoming him into the over 60 club.”
Martha’s Vineyard is close to Provincetown, Mass., where a spread among vaccinated people over July 4 helped underpin the controversial new CDC mask guidelines.
Though it doesn’t break any rules, big parties such as Obama’s do not follow the general guidelines pushed by the Biden administration.
Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, told CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday that people need to use “common sense” before having large gatherings.
“If you’re talking about a small party . . . who are all fully vaccinated, I do not believe . . . we need to put masks on to be next to each other,” Collins said. “But if there were 100 people the dynamic changes a little bit. There will be some need for common sense there.”