January 27, 2022

Sarah Palin, Covid-Positive and Unmasked, Hits the Town

So much for isolating.

Brynn Anderson/AP

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One would think that after making headlines for testing positive for Covid—which both delayed her own defamation case against the New York Times and sparked fears of potential exposure, given that she was seen dining out in a crowded restaurant days before—that Sarah Palin would simply lay low.

But common decency, or sense, has never really been a trait attributed to the former Alaskan governor. Instead, Palin, who, according to the judge presiding over her long-awaited trial, is unvaccinated, reportedly hit up restaurants in the Upper East Side at least twice since testing positive. She even returned to Elio’s, the Italian restaurant where she had been spotted eating indoors this past weekend before she tested positive.

By opting to eat outdoors, it doesn’t appear as though Palin has broken any of New York’s rules for Covid dining. (The city is declining to investigate Elio’s for allowing Palin to dine indoors before her diagnosis, despite her reported vaccination status.) Still, the gall of Palin’s decision to parade around town just days after testing positive can’t be overstated. Of course, that’s trademark Palin for you, a forever political troll who would rather earn the ire of New Yorkers and potentially endanger them with Covid exposure than simply go away for a moment.

When asked why she insisted on dining out, the Gothamist reports that Palin answered that she simply “loved” the city. It’s safe to say the adoration is not reciprocated.

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That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

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