Many believe that one of the worst things the late John McCain ever did was inflict Sarah Palin on this country. In 2008, seemingly overnight, Palin—then the governor of Alaska—went from a pretty much completely unknown political entity to aspiring Vice President of the United States. And once she got a taste of the spotlight, she hasn’t wanted to go away, whether that means by threatening to run for office again or appearing on The Masked Singer.
But in the current moment, Palin has two bigger priorities: Her defamation suit against The New York Times, and spreading her current COVID infection across as wide a swath of New York City as she possibly can.
Palin sued The New York Times in 2017 over an op-ed which she claims falsely connected her to the 2011 Tucson mass shooting that killed six people and wounded 14 others, including politician Gabby Giffords. She is currently in New York for jury selection, which was set to begin this past Monday, but had to be postponed because Palin had tested positive for COVID. Yet that didn’t stop Palin from going about her normal daily routines, including eating out at Elio’s, a popular Italian eatery on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.
As Mediaite reports, Palin was seated in a heated, outdoor area for her Wednesday night meal, but had eaten inside the restaurant on Saturday night, one day before announcing that she had tested positive for COVID. Even if she was unaware of her illness at the time, Palin was still in violation of New York City’s dining vaccine mandate, which requires proof of vaccination for all indoor diners. Palin, of course, is notably unvaccinated—and proud of it. She previously, and rather short-sightedly, noted that she’d only get vaccinated “over my dead body” (at which point it would be too late, Sarah!) This bout with COVID marks the politician-turned-laughingstock’s second go-around with the virus.
The New York Times (of all outlets) reports that the city will not be investigating how Palin ended up sitting inside for a meal. And according to a statement from Elio’s manager, Luca Guaitolini—which was sent to Mediaite—Palin’s Wednesday night return visit was really more of a chance to apologize.
“Tonight Sarah Palin returned to the restaurant to apologize for the fracas around her previous visit,” the statement read. “In accordance with the vaccine mandate and to protect our staff, we seated her outdoors. We are a restaurant open to the public, and we treat all civilians the same.”
Jury selection in Palin’s case has been rescheduled for February 3. In the meantime, we have two words for Palin: Uber Eats!
(Via Mediaite)