Obama’s ‘Shrunken’ 60th Birthday Party Draws Celebrities and Personalities

They party like it’s 2019.

Celebrities, politicians and a few hundred other “close friends and family” gathered to celebrate former President Barack Obama’s 60th birthday on Saturday in what has been billed as a “reduced” party in the middle growing concerns about the rapidly spreading Delta variant of COVID -19.

Still, celebrities flocked to Martha’s Vineyard for the chic $ 12 million beachfront Obama mansion party, and few were seen wearing masks.

While President Biden, Obama’s ex-veep, warned the nation of a possible resurgence of the coronavirus.

“This is hypocrisy at its best and shows that they don’t believe what they say,” said Ryan James Girdusky, Republican Party consultant.

“The liberal elites are laughing at us, trying to sell this as a ‘small party’,” said GOP President and upstate New York Representative Elise Stefanik.

“Rules for you and not for me. ”

Indeed, a carefree atmosphere reigned over Martha’s Vineyard on weekends as famous guests flocked from all over the world and workers pitched huge tents to accommodate the crowd of revelers.

John Legend, who arrived with his wife Chrissy Teigen on Friday, was scheduled to sing, sources told The Post. A performance by The Roots Questlove drummer was scheduled.

Also on the guest list were Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, Steven Spielberg, ex-NBA star Dwyane Wade and actress wife Gabrielle Union, Stephen Colbert, Bradley Cooper, Eddie Vedder and Beyoncé and Jay-Z.

Obama, who turned 60 on Wednesday, reached out to friends on Saturday including actor Don Cheadle, who flew on Friday.

Former Massachusetts Senator John Kerry, now Biden’s “climate czar”, arrived by private plane, sparking widespread criticism on social media for the environmentally irresponsible transportation choice.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also arrived by private plane, receiving VIP treatment at Martha’s Vineyard Airport when she arrived around noon, even though she wasn’t there for Obama’s party, sources said.

They told The Post that Secret Service made special arrangements for her private jet to travel away from the paparazzi-filled main terminal to the far end of the airport, where she was picked up and taken by cars. black private.

The special treatment for the California Democrat was only part of the Secret Service activity on the upscale island.

TMZ reported that officers angered residents by giving them orders and blocking roads.

A local businessman said Obama had a broad definition of what constitutes a “close friend”.

“His close friends apparently include his golfing friends, politicians, celebrities,” the bizman told the Daily Mail. “These people are here on the island and I doubt he will push them all away.”

“He wants people to think it’s going to be small and intimate, but I don’t think we have the same definition of privacy.”

Alan Dershowitz, another resident of Martha’s Vineyard, said the large Obama rally worried residents.

“People didn’t want to disrespect him or throw ice cream at the party, but everyone I spoke to was upset that 700 people gathered in a tent,” he said.

“It got a lot of anger and a lot of people at Vineyard are happy he cut it down. Everyone except Larry David because he got put off.

Obama and his guests reportedly kept their faces covered as they kicked things off at a pre-party Friday night at the Winnetu Oceanside Resort, where many guests are staying.

But the guests took off masks on the balcony overlooking the beach.

Hanks, one of the first celebrities to contract the virus early last year, “wowed the crowd,” a source said.

Obama, dressed in a dark shirt, also appeared to move around the room with his wife Michelle, chatting with many of the guests.

James Hagerty, the city administrator for Edgartown, said the Obama party went on business as usual for one of the country’s biggest summer hot spots.

“Really, the president’s party is nothing that we haven’t seen many times before,” Hagerty told The Post. “We’re used to a lot of big events like this in the summer and it’s good for the economy. Most locals don’t care.

Aerial photographs of the former first family’s expansive 29-acre property showed a huge tent flanked by smaller stage tents, outdoor furniture, a dance floor, and a large elevated stage with speakers and technical equipment.

Obama originally planned to host 475 guests, served by 200 employees, but spokeswoman Hannah Hankins said the former president and Michelle “decided to drastically reduce the event to include only family and friends. relatives “after an outbreak of Delta in neighboring Cape Town. Cod.

Obama’s move followed a Post report, which cited a source as saying the former president was creating a public health nightmare by trying to get nearly 700 people celebrating amid a nationwide wave of the variant and new restrictions.

Sources told The Post on Saturday that the size of the tent didn’t mean the party would always be as big as initially charged, keeping the coverage was meant to protect guests from aerial drones.

Inside the Obamas Martha’s Vineyard home where Barack is having his 60th birthday