Thanksgiving is a time to look back in gratitude on all that has been good in the past year. It’s also a chance to award the bad — and politicians have given lots from which to pick. Below, we award some of the dumbest or most blatantly hypocritical politicians.
The Easily Foreseen Consequences Award: Minneapolis City Council
Earlier this month, the Minneapolis City Council spent nearly $500,000 to hire outside police to help protect the city from a rise in crime, violence, and shootings. The council may not have needed to make the expenditure had they not voted to eliminate the Police Department back in June.
While that decision did not fully get rid of the police right away, it was heavily restrictive and led to Minneapolis hemorrhaging talent, with approximately 130 officers leaving and more expected to do so.
To the shock of no one except the radicals in Minneapolis, severely limiting the police did nothing but increase crime, leading to more arson, assaults, homicides, robberies, and shootings. Due to the police department being short-staffed in reaction to the council’s idiotic policies, they needed to hire more cops to protect the city.
Dude… Where’s My Laptop Award: Hunter Biden
Who would take a laptop containing emails implicating the owner in various crimes and corruptions, self-taped amateur porn, and images of him doing hard drugs, to a computer store for repairs and then just forget to pick it up? Hunter Biden.
The saga of the former vice president’s son’s incriminating computer was vast and complicated, exposing then Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s corruption and shining a spotlight on Big Tech’s censorship, as Twitter and Facebook blocked attempts to share the story.
Hunter’s illicit dealings, inappropriate behavior, and subsequent protection are all shameful, but the most shocking aspect of the story is how anyone would leave a laptop with such sensitive information for anyone to find.
The Self-Defense Award: Tie for Mayors Lori Lightfoot and Jenny Durkan
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan were both very supportive of protesters during the demonstrations and riots this summer — until the protests were outside their personal residences. Feeling unsafe from having to face the same unrest forced upon their constituents, they each requested constant police protection to keep the demonstrations far from their homes. While Lightfoot was correct in saying that she “has a right to make sure that my home is secure,” the people of Chicago also deserved that security.
Hypocritical Haircut Award: Nancy Pelosi
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi decided to flout the lockdown rules she had so sanctimoniously supported when she got her hair done at a salon that had been shut down due to lockdown restrictions in California. In a video leaked to Fox News, the speaker of the House is seen, maskless, in the salon, despite criticizing those who questioned mask mandates.
Rather than take responsibility once caught, Pelosi doubled down, blaming the salon owner for “setting [her] up” by booking the appointment and deliberately filming her, despite the film coming from an existing security camera. Pelosi’s protestations of ignorance to the rules ring false when she has vocally championed the shutdown measures she violated, and, as a U.S. representative, she should be aware of such major laws.
An honorable mention goes to Lightfoot, who likewise opened a closed salon to get her hair done because she’s “on the national media,” despite previously proclaiming, “Getting your roots done is not essential.”
The Cross-Country Award: Mayor Michael Hancock
Like many politicians, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock advised residents of his city to avoid traveling to visit their families this Thanksgiving. And, like many politicians, he is, of course, exempt from the rules he sets. Hancock flew from Colorado to Mississippi to visit his daughter after warning against such behavior.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo deserves an honorable mention, as he cancelled his plans to spend Thanksgiving with his elderly mother and adult daughters after advising New Yorkers to avoid traveling to see family — or inviting family over — for the holiday. However, he only cancelled the plans after announcing his intention to celebrate with his family, and faced considerable and understandable backlash.
The Profiteering Award: Andrew Cuomo
Of all the dangerous ineptitude shown by politicians during the COVID crisis, no one was as disastrous as Cuomo. From his attacks on religious liberties to horrific nursing home policies that exacerbated the spread of the disease to the most vulnerable populations, Cuomo’s handling of the pandemic was nothing short of shameful.
Yet during this period he wrote a book celebrating his success in handling coronavirus, literally making a profit off the deaths of tens of thousands of those in his state he has sworn to represent. For failing as a leader and worsening an already fraught pandemic, Cuomo is the biggest turkey of 2020.
