Biden Wishes Obama a Happy Birthday After Lavish Party Scaled Back Due to Failure to Contain COVID Delta Variant

Former President Barack Obama turned 60 years old today and the current president and his former Vice President Joe Biden wished him a happy birthday in a tweet.

The well wishes are bittersweet for Obama, as he was forced to scale back a lavish party that he had planned to celebrate the occasion due to Biden’s inability to contain the COVID Delta variant.

Breitbart reported that it was to be a celebrity studded party at Obama’s $12 million estate in Martha’s Vineyard and will now just include “only family and close friends” according to Hannah Hankins, a spokeswoman for Obama.

“He’s appreciative of others sending their birthday wishes from afar and looks forward to seeing people soon,” Hankins added.

In the tweet, Biden shared a picture of the two high-fiving and stated, “I’m proud to call you a brother and a friend — and I’m grateful for your selfless service to this nation.”

Happy birthday, @BarackObama. I’m proud to call you a brother and a friend — and I’m grateful for your selfless service to this nation. pic.twitter.com/jZ9XnX2Dxt

— President Biden (@POTUS) August 4, 2021

Obama’s former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also wished him a happy birthday and shared a photograph of the two laughing together and also calling him her “friend.”

Additionally, Michelle Obama tweeted a birthday message for her husband. which included a picture of the two along with their two girls.

“Of all of your accomplishments, I know that being a present, loving father to our girls tops them all. Thank you for never letting the weight of the world get in the way of being a wonderful husband and father,” she said.

Breitbart reported:

The New York Times, which has always published glowing accounts on Obama, has not previously reported how the party could be a super spreader gathering:

Hundreds of former Obama administration officials, celebrities and Democratic donors had been planning to attend the party at Mr. Obama’s island mansion. Many guests were already in transit and others were scheduling the required coronavirus tests whose results they had to submit to a medical “coronavirus coordinator” to gain entry to the Obama compound. The New York Post reported that George Clooney, Steven Spielberg and Oprah Winfrey were all expected to attend.

“They’ve been concerned about the virus from the beginning, asking invited guests if they had been vaccinated, requesting that they get a test proximate to the event,” said David Axelrod, a former top Obama adviser. “But when this was planned, the situation was quite different. So they responded to the changing circumstances.”

Mr. Obama’s belated change of plans came days after President Biden effectively conceded that the pandemic had come roaring back, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in an internal document that the Delta variant was much more contagious and more likely to break through vaccine protections than all other known versions of the virus. Mr. Obama, however, had at first appeared eager to carry on with his plans, displaying what some viewed as a casual disregard for the optics of his birthday bash. Even as cities like Washington reimposed mask mandates indoors, a source involved in the planning of Mr. Obama’s birthday party said the event would go on as planned, underscoring that it would be outdoors and all guests would be following CDC public health protocols.

Republicans have criticized Obama’s party plans, including Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), chairwoman of the House Republican Conference.

“Democrats are imposing unscientific mask mandates while contemplating more lockdowns,” Stefanik said. “Meanwhile, President Obama is hosting over 500 elites at his Marthas Vineyard mansion. If you or I did that it would be called a super-spreader event by the Democrats.

“Typical liberal ‘do as I say, not as I do,’” Stefanik said. “This is what socialism looks like.”

“Located in Edgartown, Massachusetts, the waterfront dwelling was built in 2001, and it boasts seven bedrooms and eight and a half bathrooms, spread across 6,892 square feet,” House Beautiful magazine reported. “The Obamas purchased the home for $11.75 million, in late 2019, after renting it that summer.”