Let’s begin by stating the facts.
Fact: Two planeloads of Texas Democrats descended on D.C. last week. Since their arrival, six of the 58 total “delegates” who made the trip have been diagnosed with COVID-19.
Fact: Snapshots of the smiling defectors reveal that the passengers on at least one of the private jets chose to travel maskless.
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Fact: These people were in violation of federal regulations that mandate the wearing of a mask while aboard an aircraft in the U.S. (Their actions were also in defiance of CDC recommendations that airline passengers wear masks aboard planes.)
Fact: An aide in Nancy Pelosi’s office who escorted the fugitives around the Capitol has also tested positive for the coronavirus. There appear to be still others, but the White House refuses to reveal their names:
O'Keefe: "You confirmed today there's been a breakthrough case."
Psaki: "Yep."
O'Keefe: "But you're also confirming there have been other breakthrough cases?"
Psaki: "Yep."
O'Keefe: "But you had not previously disclosed that there had been?"
Psaki: "And — that's correct."— Kathryn Watson (@kathrynw5) July 20, 2021
Those are the facts, and they are irrefutable. So what is the White House’s reaction? Here is Press Secretary Jen Psaki on the question of whether the administration considers the incursion of infected Democrats to be a super spreader event. A transcript follows:
Well, I would say that’s not a characterization we’re making from here. We certainly understand there will be breakthrough cases. Even vaccines that are incredibly effective are not foolproof. They’re, not a 100 percent effective we’ve seen. Here’s the good news though. We know that these vaccines — that these individuals, I think, if I’m correct, have have been vaccinated. It means that protects from death, it protects from serious illness, it protects for the most part from hospitalization. So that is a good sign.
Psaki was also asked what the administration’s message is to the Texas Democrats. Her answer is summarized in these eight words: “Thanks for standing up to voting rights.”
