President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris don’t need to worry about flouting Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations against nonessential travel, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Monday.
The reason: They both fly private.
Psaki made the comments after being asked at her daily press briefing about the commander-in-chief’s recent trips amid continued advisories from the health agency against traveling — even if fully vaccinated.
“I would say that the president travels, as does the vice president, on a private plane. That is the purview of every president and vice president throughout American history,” the press secretary said of Air Force One and Two.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki speaks during a briefing at the White House on Monday, March 29, 2021.Evan Vucci/APFlying private is, “of course, different than traveling on a commercial flight and going to mass events.”
“The president is not hosting rallies, nor is the the vice president. We take the role of being models quite seriously,” she continued.
Kamala Harris disembarks from her plane before a campaign event on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2020. David Dermer/AP“But, I think most Americans would recognize the difference.”
For environmentalists like Biden and Harris, flying private comes at a cost, given the flight’s carbon impact on the planet compared to the impression made by joining a more crowded commercial jetliner.
President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill Biden, board a plane at New Castle Airport on Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2021. Evan Vucci/APJohn Kerry, 2004 Democratic presidential contender who was tapped earlier this year as Biden’s climate czar, faced criticism after it was discovered that he still owned a private jet.
He has since been seen flying commercial, where he was recently caught sitting maskless in first class.
