Denver Mayor Michael Hancock could barely finish asking his constituents to avoid Thanksgiving travel before he hopped on a plane to spend the holiday with family in Mississippi.
Hancock’s apologetic statement was nearly as disingenuous, saying he deemed it safer for one person (him) to travel from Denver to Mississippi than for two people (his wife and daughter) to travel from Mississippi to Denver.
Thirty minutes before Hancock boarded his flight in Denver on Wednesday, Hancock tweeted a graphic showing City of Denver holiday guidelines in consideration of the pandemic. He should have tweeted “Rules for thee not for me” instead of “Stay home as much as you can.” “Host virtual gatherings instead of in-person dinners” and “Avoid travel, if you can.”
He apologized, but it was not clear if he was sorry for traveling against his own citywide recommendations or sorry that he got caught. Apparently, he was following a formula from California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who issued strict restrictions and wound up apologizing for attending a dinner birthday party.
Hancock was roundly roasted like a turkey on social media. Meanwhile, his state’s governor, Jared Polis tested negative for COVID-19 but is cautiously quarantining because he came into contact with someone that has coronavirus.
“I recognize that my decision has disappointed many who believe it would have been better to spend Thanksgiving alone,” Hancock said in a statement. “As a public official, whose conduct is rightly scrutinized for the message it sends to others, I apologize to residents of Denver who see my decisions as conflicting with the guidance to stay at home for all but essential travel.”
Is there another way to see it?
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