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Home » Travel » Denver Mayor Warns Us Not To Travel…From The Airport As He Boards Flight
Travel

Denver Mayor Warns Us Not To Travel…From The Airport As He Boards Flight

Matthew Klint Posted onNovember 26, 2020November 14, 2023 17 Comments

a man in a suit and tie standing in front of airplanes

Denver Mayor Michael Hancock is taking COVID-19 seriously. He sent out the following tweet at 7:43am yesterday:

Pass the potatoes, not COVID.

🏘️Stay home as much as you can, especially if you’re sick.
💻Host virtual gatherings instead of in-person dinners.
❌Avoid travel, if you can.
🍲Order your holiday meal from a local eatery.
🎁Shop online with a small business for #BlackFriday. pic.twitter.com/acQpWs2Ism

— Michael B. Hancock 😷 (@MayorHancock) November 25, 2020

It urged residents of Denver to stay home, host virtual gatherings, and avoid travel. He went even further when speaking to city staff, urging them “to refrain from travel this Thanksgiving holiday” and pledging that he was “cancelling our traditional gathering of our extended family.”

Small problem for Mayor Hancock: he sent this tweet onboard United flight 1864, traveling from Denver to Houston. Yes, just 16 minutes after the tweet, he departed for Houston, then later connected to Mississippi.

a screenshot of a phone

What could have prompted this trip? A family emergency? Vital work for the city?

Nope…just Thanksgiving dinner with his daughter.

Here’s how he defended his action:

“I fully acknowledge that I have urged everyone to stay home and avoid unnecessary travel. I have shared how my family cancelled our plans for our traditional multi-household Thanksgiving celebration. What I did not share, but should have, is that my wife and my daughter have been in Mississippi, where my daughter recently took a job. As the holiday approached, I decided it would be safer for me to travel to see them than to have two family members travel back to Denver.

“I recognize that my decision has disappointed many who believe it would have been better to spend Thanksgiving alone.  As a public official, whose conduct is rightly scrutinized for the message it sends to others, I apologize to the residents of Denver who see my decision as conflicting with the guidance to stay at home for all but essential travel. I made my decision as a husband and father, and for those who are angry and disappointed, I humbly ask you to forgive decisions that are borne of my heart and not my head.”

It’s a non-apology. He’s defending his action and sorry if you are offended.

Now you could try to argue that lip service is better than full disregard from bloated dotards, but I’m not trying to make this a political issue.

Instead, I just want to recognize that placed in every human heart is a deep longing for fellowship, community, and family. What else would drive such hypocrisy but such a strong desire?

The mayor thinks his travel is essential. It’s no wonder millions of Americans are ignoring government pleas not to travel this holiday.

I’m not going to condemn the mayor for flying to Mississippi for Thanksgiving, just like I will not condemn the California Governor for dining at French Laundry or members of the California legislature traveling to Hawaii while urging residents to stay home.

I am staying home today…my annual Carmel trip was canceled and we’re not planning any sort of extended trip this weekend. But I’m not going to urge you to stay home too. Do understand the virus is real. Take precautions. Be careful. Treat others the way you would want to be treated. But I’ll stop well short of demanding you stay home, especially when our elected leaders demonstrate the necessity of the human bond.

(H/T: View from the Wing // image: Raimond Spekking / Wikimedia Commons (with the mayor superimposed))

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About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

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17 Comments

  1. Gene Reply
    November 26, 2020 at 9:59 am

    @ Matthew — He should do the honorable thing and resign.

    • Timmey Reply
      November 26, 2020 at 8:33 pm

      Typical – do as I say not as I do. Rules don’t apply to them. Yet people keep voting these hypocrite into office.

      • Kelly Reply
        November 27, 2020 at 7:46 pm

        I do condemn him. These officials taking our freedom, our ability to earn money, causing us major depression, educational deficiencies, increased starvation, and they do the opposite of what they demand of us all!?! A non apology isn’t cutting it, a sincere apology doesn’t cut it. They are obviously just bummed they were caught. Time to open everything up and let each of us decide the risks we are willing to take. The tyranny is getting much worse and will not end until we collectively say enough!

  2. Geoff Reply
    November 26, 2020 at 10:07 am

    These a-hole pols who preach one thing and do the exact opposite are shameless. Newsom and his pathetic French Laundry dinner. Cuomo finally reversed his arrogant idea of dining with his out-of-town mother (on top of his stupidity of sending elderly back to nursing homes to infect thousands then writing a book about how successful he was in conquering the virus in NYC).
    And now this idiot.
    It’s not all Trump’s fault is it? The entire country is at fault for the mess we are in.

    • Vicki Faas Reply
      November 26, 2020 at 8:49 pm

      I am disgusted with his hypocrisy and lame apology. None of his family members should have traveled. Can’t spend Thanksgiving with his daughter and wife? Boo hoo cry me a river and make the sacrifices the rest of us are making.

  3. George Reply
    November 26, 2020 at 10:10 am

    Lol Gene, politicians don’t do honorable things anymore.
    They are all corrupt, and the sooner the population ignores them, the better.

    Flew yesterday for a nice 3 days during Thanksgiving.
    I stopped listening to silly government edicts, decrees, CDC blah blah blah, long ago.

    I’m a helluva lot happier when I realized what was behind the curtain…

  4. DaninMCI Reply
    November 26, 2020 at 10:12 am

    I really don’t blame him for traveling in this situation however he couldn’t just keep his mouth shut in general. If he hadn’t been trying to Covid-Guilt other people we wouldn’t have even noticed. This however is typical of politicians of all sides that have a “Do as I say, not as I do” power trip attitude.

  5. sebit Reply
    November 26, 2020 at 10:15 am

    There is truth to the conservative stance of having small govt. All these politicians and bureaucrats get too comfortable in their jobs.

  6. debit Reply
    November 26, 2020 at 10:15 am

    There is truth to the conservative stance of having small govt. All these politicians and bureaucrats get too comfortable in their jobs.

  7. Scott Schultz Reply
    November 26, 2020 at 10:37 am

    As someone who has tested positive for COVID, I can definitely say it’s real. Or was it all a conspiracy and the test was fake?

  8. derek Reply
    November 26, 2020 at 11:37 am

    One problem is that too many people think their precautions are enough when they are not enough. What if you don’t die but need a lung transplant, which will greatly affect your remaining shortened life? This Covid-19 is a crisis but not as bad as if you had incurable cancer, arm chopped off by accident or no electricity for a year.

  9. Stuart Reply
    November 26, 2020 at 11:50 am

    He risked his job all for a trip to….Mississippi. At least Gavin Newson chose one of the best restaurants in the world.

    • Mr G Reply
      November 26, 2020 at 12:31 pm

      You sir have the comment of the week. Well done.

  10. Christian Reply
    November 26, 2020 at 1:39 pm

    I find the hypocrisy pretty galling. What makes these actions even worse is that these aren’t science-denying idiots who don’t realize the danger. They simply feel that the rules shouldn’t apply to them. I have a problem with that.

  11. robbo Reply
    November 26, 2020 at 3:12 pm

    What a cock, sack the silly bastard, not fit to run the great city if Denver, or is this a case of #blm?

    • Ravioliolie Kaye Reply
      November 26, 2020 at 6:31 pm

      I detect a racist slant to your rant.

  12. Hans Reply
    November 28, 2020 at 6:38 pm

    Frankly, I don’t see anything happening. He’s on the MSM’s side.

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