One of the reasons politicians have such a bad rap is some say one thing and do another.
Take the case of Denver Mayor Michael Hancock.
After telling Denverites to stay home for the Thanksgiving holiday, he got on a plane on Wednesday and flew to Houston to spend time with his family in Mississippi.
In fact, 30 minutes before boarding the flight to have an in-person dinner with his family — in direct opposition to what he advised — he tweeted:
“Host virtual gatherings instead of in-person dinners. Avoid travel if you can.”
The job of a press secretary can be a horrible one if you have a hypocrite for a boss. And in this case, his deputy communications director had to answer to the press.
His statement? Another reason politicians have such a bad reputation. Instead of admitting a mistake was made, he tried to rationalize it.
“As he has shared, the mayor is not hosting his traditional large family this year, but instead traveling alone to join his wife and daughter where the three of them will celebrate Thanksgiving at her residence instead of having them travel back to Denver. Upon return he will follow all necessary health and safety guidance and quarantine,” Mike Strott said.
What makes this all worse? Hancock’s press conference last week where he said he was just going to be having a Zoom call for Thanksgiving.
“We’re going to be doing a Zoom so that we can at least see each other on Thanksgiving. So please, I urge everyone, maybe get a small turkey this year and celebrate with just those you live with,” he said.
In other words, the mayor lied and went against everything he said not to do and his people are trying to cover for it.
Hancock is not the first and certainly won’t be the last politician do this.
Earlier this week, New York Gov Andrew Cuomo advised citizens to stay at home for Thanksgiving but then announced his was traveling to spend Thanksgiving with his mother. He quickly changed his mind.
