NYT Reporter Under Fire for Defending 'Sophisticated, Vaccinated' Crowd at Obama's Birthday Party

© AFP 2023 / CHANDAN KHANNA(FILES) In this file photo former US President Barack Obama speaks at a Biden-Harris drive-in rally in Miami, Florida on October 24, 2020.
(FILES) In this file photo former US President Barack Obama speaks at a Biden-Harris drive-in rally in Miami, Florida on October 24, 2020.  - Sputnik International, 1920, 09.08.2021
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Barack Obama has landed in hot water after his grand plans to celebrate his 60th birthday were revealed by the media. He originally wanted to host a 500-guest get-together, served by 200 staff, but had to scrap some of his plans due to much criticism and the spread of the Delta strain of the coronavirus.
New York Times White House correspondent Annie Karni has faced much flak on social media after apparently dismissing concerns over ex-President Barack Obama's maskless birthday bash over the weekend.
Karni claimed that the star-studded celebration on Martha's Vineyard, where the ex-POTUS himself was seen maskless, was a gathering of a "sophisticated, vaccinated" crowd, and guests were "following all the safety precautions".
The remark, which was aired on CNN, triggered an avalanche of outrage on social media instantaneously, with many, including journalist Glenn Greenwald, pointing out that all the concerns about vaccinated people passing the Delta variant of the coronavirus to the unvaccinated had seemingly disappeared at Obama's jamboree.
​​Some mockingly suggested that the virus never targets "sophisticated" people:
Another Twitterian made a reference to the notorious nickname Hillary Clinton, the then-Democratic presidential nominee, came up with to describe half of Donald Trump's supporters.
Karni made an attempt to clarify the remark, saying the word "sophisticated" was a direct quote from one of the residents she spoke to.
"Watch the full clip. The Q was, what do people on the island think of the party? The A was me summarizing views of ppl I spoke with: some are upset, + others think the concerns about it are overblown. 'Sophisticated crowd' was from a quote in the story", Karni tweeted.
Obama's birthday party was originally set to host 500 people but was subsequently "scaled down" after he faced criticism for planning a big celebration amid a surge in COVID-19 cases and the spread of the more contagious Delta variant.
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