Inauguration too touchy feelie?

[TorringtonDean]

Just watching the American Inauguration. There is little social distancing, everyone is too close together and they are shaking hands and hugging. Joe Biden, Obama, Clinton, Bush, Lady Gaga, J-Lo and all their hangers on. The virus will spread like wildfire. And the Democrats are meant to be in favour of social distancing! It’s making me deeply uncomfortable.

Also, that afternoon he signed executive orders that:

*Restored the directorate for global health security and biodefense at the National Security Council (Trump disbanded it)

*Created a national mask mandate at all federal buildings/property and by all federal employees at work (Trump refused)

*Stopped Trump's pull-out from the WHO

*Sent Tony Fauci to a WHO executive council meeting tomorrow

*Created a new Covid response co-ordinator (an actual bureaucratic expert, not, you know, Jared. Or Mike Pence.)

So, going well, I guess.

(Still shouldn't have hugged!)

I saw the podium being sanitised between speakers so they were making an effort..

Hahaha a few days ago some of those Democrats in attendance today were up in arms about being in a locked room and despite wearing masks themselves they couldn't stand that others wouldn't wear masks and they would get covid

Yet here they are not social distancing at all. There is even a pic of Bill Clinton not wearing his mask properly 🙄

The hypocrisy is astonishing but no surprise because if this was Trump it would be plenty of bashing, now its Biden its plenty of oh leave him alone they have had tests blah blah blah blah

@Wendyhause - agree Lady Gaga was absolutely brilliant

Most of them will have been vaccinated and / or tested. Thus vastly reducing the risk of a ‘super spreader event’

Personally, I believe you could forgive a little getting carried away with the emotion of it all. They have just ousted the worst president of all time and already set in motion (as a PP has said) a number of executive orders. There won’t be other mass gatherings like this. It wasn’t even a mass gathering per usual expectations of presidential inaugurations. I believe they struck the right balance.

What about Garth Brooks manically running around high fiving and hugging folk and he had no mask. Spread unlikely through such short time close proximity but it does send mixed messages and undermine the key points.

Getting carried away? Other people aren’t allowed to do that. No parties, no Xmas. Bad example, I’d say.

I’m not anti-Biden but I expected better. More law a-Biden!

@cyclingmad

Hahaha a few days ago some of those Democrats in attendance today were up in arms about being in a locked room and despite wearing masks themselves they couldn't stand that others wouldn't wear masks and they would get covid

Yet here they are not social distancing at all. There is even a pic of Bill Clinton not wearing his mask properly 🙄

The hypocrisy is astonishing but no surprise because if this was Trump it would be plenty of bashing, now its Biden its plenty of oh leave him alone they have had tests blah blah blah blah

Um, well, they were in a small, inside room with untested and literally virulent anti-maskers, and at least three of those Democrats did get covid in the days following, most likely from that room.

I agree about hypocrisy--they should have not hugged. But this is an order of magnitude different: masked, tested, outside, etc.

However he is President now and should be leading his people and showing the way. What he showed is mask up but you can still not social distance.

Tomorrow if he tells Americans to mask up and keep social distance why should they listen?

Isn't that like the Dominic Cummings saga here.

Lead by example

Garth Brooks started it, hugging Bush. Then they were all at it. Everyone was far too close together. They may have been tested yesterday but caught it this morning before setting off for the ceremony. It was a bad example. Here in Britain politicians have to wait their turn in the queue but I guess it’s different if you’re an American. Of course Biden is old enough to at least be in the over-70s category.

YANBU OP. Lots of vulnerable oldies trying to social distance but too deaf maybe to talk from a distance, some with masks under noses. I did wonder about how many hands had run down that staircase rail with people touching their faces when they got to the bottom. Bit of an opportunity for cross contamination I thought. I noticed Kamala Harris (in stilettos) and husband made it bravely from top to bottom, no hands! I expect we’ll see the consequences or not of that gathering in a in a few weeks time.

[quote FortunesFavour]@Wendyhause - agree Lady Gaga was absolutely brilliant[/quote]
I agree Lady GAGA was great and looked great, really showed respect for the occasion, I enjoyed J_lo but wished somebody translated the Spanish bit. I thought Garth Brooks was appalling , Not a good singer and his behaviour afterwards, hugging so many people was terrible.

Hope what the previous poster said about tests and vaccinations is true, I was thinking we'll see in 2 weeks. I agree about the stair rails. I bet they were all touching their faces before and after, clinton cannot leave his nose alone. At least all the guards and assistants kept their masks on. Hope they are OK.

It was a performance - that's what it's for - to perform democracy as Biden said rather long-windedly. And isn't St Augustine a saint of the Christian church generally not just Catholics.? Maybe he checked.

Even Trump acknowledged that by not attending - nothing so became him as the leaving of it. Can you imagine if he and Melania had been standing there like immovable lumps? It was amusing watching so many huggy and kissy people trying to control themselves and Clinton doing the old man face mask semi-wearing and falling asleep. He looked thin, is he well? The women looked great, the men were indistinguishable.

When the USA gets a female leader I will take an interest then! They are so far behind the world in this aspect.

Re the touchy feely issues. They were tested so no worse that our footballers do every game I guess!

MN loves to piss on a parade.

They have glitz. We have pomp and ceremony. I prefer pomp and ceremony. But the US is a much younger country and these traditions were never made, hence the glitz. I thought lady gaga’s eagle brooch was a bit much. As for social distancing, the touchy / freely was nice to see. I imagine they’ve all been pretty careful in the run up and tested a lot.

Agree re the pomp and ceremony thing, but AFAIK, Adele hasnt yet been wheeled out as someone moves into No. 10 to sing God Save the Queen, and nor has Elton John played Here Comes the Bride on the organ at a cathedral when Catherine or Meghan walked up the aisle 😂😂

I am delighted that Trump is gone and Biden is now president.

BUT I found the hugging too much, tests or no tests. When Trump and his family did the same at a White House Garden event in the summer, the media took great delight in showing photos again and again of people hugging. It later turned into a super spreading event.

A lot of people in America feel genuinely aggrieved about Biden's presidency and this will play into the one rule for them, one for us narrative.

I like the glitz.

@cyclingmad

Hahaha a few days ago some of those Democrats in attendance today were up in arms about being in a locked room and despite wearing masks themselves they couldn't stand that others wouldn't wear masks and they would get covid

Yet here they are not social distancing at all. There is even a pic of Bill Clinton not wearing his mask properly 🙄

The hypocrisy is astonishing but no surprise because if this was Trump it would be plenty of bashing, now its Biden its plenty of oh leave him alone they have had tests blah blah blah blah

You're aware the mask protects other people not the wearer?

So the people without masks were safe from the Democrats but the Democrats were exposed to the people without masks.

If it was Trump, everyone on here would be outraged. YANBU. I am not a big fan of Biden though. I think he only got in because Trump was so shit.

I thought it was widely assumed that he's only KH's trojan horse anyways?

I was surprised. At work it’s impossible for us to social distance all the time but we are expected to as much as possible

We know they have been tested we also know tests especially the lateral flow tests are not always accurate (more false negatives than false positives)

And being vaccinated it is not yet known if it stops you carrying and passing the virus on should you catch and you become unwell you are just less likely to be very unwell

YANBU. Us peasants have a long list of restrictive rules to follow, but the elite (politicians and their rich friends) are allowed to do what they want. Constantly flouting the rules they set. Biden is really old so why is he ok? Biden also gives me the creeps.