NYT Reporter Justifies Obama Party: 'This is a Sophisticated, Vaccinated Crowd’

In another classic case of “rules for thee, but not for me,” New York Times White House Correspondent Annie Karni let former President Barack Obama’s party off the hook despite concerns over the Delta variant of COVID-19 because it was “a sophisticated, vaccinated crowd.”

While discussing Obama’s Martha’s Vineyard 60th birthday bash on CNN this weekend, Karni noted that it was being “very overblown,” The Federalist reported.

“They’re following all the safety precautions,” Karni said. “People are going to sporting events that are bigger than this. This is going to be safe. This is a sophisticated, vaccinated crowd. And this is just about optics, it’s not about safety.”

Her comments received heavy criticism on social media, noting the double standard for liberal elites and the rest of America.

Journalist Glenn Greenwald responded to a clip of Karni’s segment on Twitter.

“What happened to all the concerns about vaccinated people passing Delta to the unvaccinated?” Greenwald also pointed out in the tweet.

Though the party was allegedly scaled back days prior to the event in light of the spreading Delta coronavirus variant, many celebrities still attended and photos were posted and subsequently deleted of maskless attendees, according to the New York Post.

Even if the event attendees were all vaccinated, as Karni says, there is evidence that the vaccinated may spread the Delta variant just as easily as those who are unvaccinated, Reuters reported.

While the Obamas were living it up with celebrities, other Americans are being weighed down by mask mandates and, in some cases, vaccine mandates.

The New York Times reporter simply spoke the silent understanding: that the rules aren’t for the Obamas or the rest of the liberal elites — just for the less “sophisticated” Americans.