Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D) defended her call for city residents to cancel "traditional" Thanksgiving plans on Friday less than a week after she was seen joining the crowded street parties after news outlets declared Democratic nominee Joe Biden the president-elect.
The Thanksgiving cancellation was part of a "Stay-at-Home Advisory" for Chicago, which will go into effect on Monday, November 16 at 6:00 a.m.
- Stay home unless for essential reasons
— Mayor Lori Lightfoot (@chicagosmayor) November 12, 2020
- Stop having guests over—including family members you do not live with
- Avoid non-essential travel
- Cancel traditional Thanksgiving plans
Lightfoot posted a video of herself addressing a crowd of Biden supporters while not properly wearing a mask.
This is a great day for our city and our country. We are taking our democracy back. #BidenHarris2020 pic.twitter.com/OAZQPd1r4y
— Lori Lightfoot (@LoriLightfoot) November 8, 2020
"One of the reasons people feel frustrated or skeptical is they are getting a lot of mixed messages. What do you say to those who are criticizing you were less than a week ago you went out and stood before a massive crowd who was celebrating Joe Biden’s victory and now you’re saying your city has to shut down? How do you have one and not the other?" MSNBC's Stephanie Ruhle asked.
"Well, look, I think that we have been saying all along, everybody has to take care. Everybody has to take precautions. I will tell you, in that big crowd a week ago, we had — everybody was wearing masks. Look at — you can see the shot here. Mask compliance in our city is actually up very, very high," Lightfoot said. "But, yes, there are times when we actually do need to have relief and come together, and I felt like that was one of those times. That crowd was gathered whether I was there or not. But this has been a super hard year on everyone. Everyone feels traumatized."
