Barack Obama 'Scaling Back' 60th Birthday Bash amid COVID Surge, New Protocols and Criticism

People via Yahoo ^ | 8/04/21 | Gabrielle Chung

[Libloather]

Barack Obama's upcoming birthday celebration has been scaled back as the delta variant of COVID-19 is spreading across parts of the United States.

**SNIP**

It's unclear how many people will now be in attendance at the party. Outlets like Axios had reported the original guest list had around 475 confirmed attendees, but the Obama camp would not attach numbers or names to the shrunken guest list.

A source no longer going to the party tells PEOPLE that "no one needs to feel sorry for Barack Obama."

"This is the reality so many people are facing with COVID and it's the right thing to do," the insider says, adding that the Obamas "have no interest in being a distraction from the basic point: that everyone should get vaccinated."

At least a handful of celebrities are still expected to attend by virtue of their close friendships - and partnerships - with the former first couple. Bruce Springsteen, for example, is currently working on a book with President Obama after doing a podcast together.

One news outlet had reported that Pearl Jam was to perform at the party though the former president's tastes lean more toward hip-hop, rap and pop classics. But a spokesperson for the rock band told Fox News: "Pearl Jam is not performing at Obama's 60th birthday party this weekend."

[Albion Wilde]

Barack Obama 'Scaling Back' 60th Birthday Bash amid COVID Surge, New Protocols and Criticism too close to an election season

Fixed it.

[PghBaldy]

Obama lied, once again. It was not scaled-back by the looks of the tents. https://twitter.com/SCUBA2024/status/1423791803170426880

[Billthedrill]

Party hearty while the Little People smother. Oh, and camps for the unvaccinated.

HERE is Paul Joseph Watson's take on it: Us and Them.

[Libloather]

Those tents get lower as they get closer to the water. Could be a global warming wipeout in the making.