Joe Biden ignores CDC guidelines to take first trip on Air Force One for a family Super Bowl party in Delaware
PRESIDENT Joe Biden has flouted CDC guidelines regarding travel during Super Bowl weekend to head home to Delaware for some family time.
Biden took his first flight on Air Force One on Friday back to his home in Wilmington, where he said he’ll spend some time with his wife and family.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki fended off questions from reporters about why Biden chose to head home even while the CDC is advising against unnecessary travel amid the ongoing Covid pandemic.
“He is from Delaware and has a home there and is going to spend the weekend with his wife and family there,” she said.
The trip comes as some health experts fear Super Bowl gatherings may lead to a spike in Covid cases, just as new cases have begun to go down in the wake of the holiday season spike.
“The key is ensuring that people don’t take steps to make others vulnerable in our effort to get the pandemic under control,” Psaki added when pressed further about Biden’s trip.
“As you know, any president of the United States, Democrat or Republican, obviously takes Air Force One, a private plane, when they travel.”
The president had a chat with reporters when he touched down in Delaware on Friday, telling them Air Force One was “much nicer” than the plane he flew in as vice president during Barack Obama‘s administration.
“It’s a great plane … it’s the same plane that we had as vice president, only much nicer,” he said.
He said the private presidential plane has a “nice conference room,” and “plenty of room for you all back in the back.”
He said he planned to “see my grandchildren and hang out with Jill,” during the trip home. The president ignored a question about whether he was setting the right example by traveling during Super Bowl weekend.
The CDC and the nation’s top infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci have both recommended that people skip out on Super Bowl parties this year.
“You don’t want parties with people that you haven’t had much contact with,” Fauci said earlier this week. “You just don’t know if they’re infected, so as difficult as that is, at least this time around, just lay low and cool it.”
The CDC recommended that if people do gather for the big game, they hold celebrations outdoors or in well-ventilated areas where people can sit six feet apart.
Biden himself has received both doses of the Pfizer Covid vaccine, which is considered about 95% effective at preventing illness from the virus.
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Still, health experts at this time aren’t sure how effective the vaccines are when it comes to spreading the virus to others who may not be vaccinated.
To date, there have been about 26.7million cases of Covid diagnosed in the US, and nearly 460,000 deaths related to the virus.
About 30.2million people have received a first dose of the vaccine, and 8.3million have been fully vaccinated, according to the latest figures from the CDC.