(The Center Square) – Washington Gov. Jay Inslee was roasted like a turkey by many Twitter users for his holiday advice on how to treat family and friends for the seasonal holiday.
With the COVID-19 pandemic in mind, Inslee (@GovInslee) posted some Advice for safe holiday gatherings, including checking guests’ vaccination status, testing, limiting close contact and wearing masks in the presence of unvaccinated guests.
Inslee’s advice delivered on Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving, drew an avalanche of ridicule.
Mariya Frost (@MariyaFrost) director of the Coles Center on Transportation at the Washington Policy Center, responded by tweets“How about we stop normalizing asking personal medical questions that are nobody’s business but yours.”
Hazel (@HazelBazel13) went sarcastically.
“How would I ever manage Thanksgiving without you?” it posted on Twitter responding to Inslee. “You are the Best!”
That sentence ended with the kiss emoji.
Riot_Rated (@RiotRated) referenced a recent Fox News story about the deer infected with COVID-19 in answering to Inslee, asking, “Why aren’t you shooting these illegal deer? Massive gatherings and I haven’t seen a single deer in a mask!!”
While the vast majority of responses on Twitter seemed to mock Inslee’s turkey day guidance, there were some shows of support.
Washington Health Alliance (@WAHealthChecup) retweeted the governor’s recommendations for a safe holiday gathering.
“Thanks Gov, I appreciate the tough decisions you had to make,” bianca cartagena (@bgoesnorth) posted on Twitter responding to Inslee. “The state is more certain about this. Happy Thanksgiving!”
The governor’s take on Thanksgiving this year represents a softening of last year’s Thanksgiving. That time, two weeks before the party, Inslee, in a television address with his wife Trudi by his side, pleaded with Washingtonians to change their November and December holiday plans as the number of COVID-19 cases increased.
“We’re optimistic that Thanksgiving 2021 will be the best ever,” Inslee said at the time, “but this year, it’s just too dangerous to gather together indoors where the virus can spread so easily. “
