Perspectives: Obama's 60th Birthday Party

Former President Barack Obama's 60th birthday party was covered by both left and right media this past week, but for different reasons. Obama's party Saturday on Martha's Vineyard featured friends, family and high-profile celebrities; a video posted to social media showed guests dancing and singing with the former president. Obama's spokesperson said last week that they would "significantly scale back the event to include only family and close friends" due "to the new spread of the Delta variant." Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention designated Martha's Vineyard an area with "high" community COVID-19 transmission.

The party was a bigger story on the right side of the media spectrum overall. Right-rated outlets and voices often highlighted the fact that guests weren't wearing masks, and accused mainstream media of ignoring the party and potential COVID-19 concerns; some on the right broke from that narrative, saying the Obamas shouldn't be criticized because they "did what everyone should be allowed to do." The New York Times (Lean Left bias) reported last Thursday that Obama had canceled the party; the same day, Snopes (Lean Left) published a fact-check of the claim that Obama scaled back the party, rating it as "True." The few left-rated outlets that published coverage after the party focused on the celebrity guests and analyzing Obama's future.