Video of maskless Arizona governor’s son at indoor party goes viral

Footage showing Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey’s (R) oldest son interacting with a packed crowd of maskless people at a party has gone viral, prompting criticism of the GOP governor who has urged citizens to take “personal responsibility” in adopting safety measures amid the coronavirus pandemic. 

The video clips, posted on Jack Ducey’s Instagram story in late December, first show him eating at an indoor restaurant with a group of people, before also showing him at a party where attendees were packed together, with the event’s DJ smiling and shaking hands with others. 

It was not clear from the video where the party took place, or who hosted the event. 

In a Twitter post along with the video Sunday, Accountable Arizona, a failed Ducey recall campaign, wrote, “If (the governor’s) own adult son isn’t following Ducey’s soft advice, how can Ducey expect Arizonans to?” 

“You can’t even convince your own son to respect the virus,” the group added, along with a series of images of the Arizona governor attending recent events hosted by President Trump without wearing a face mask. 

“He’s just following your lead by attending maskless super spreader events,” the group wrote. 

If your own ADULT kid doesn’t do the right thing, how can you reasonably say other people are?

You can’t even convince your own son to respect the virus @dougducey.

He’s just following your lead by attending maskless super spreader events.#DeadOnDucey pic.twitter.com/qzCHZDoKCf

— #DeadOnDucey (@AccountableInAZ) January 3, 2021

When contacted by The Arizona Republic, Jack Ducey, who is in his early 20s, admitted that he had made a mistake, but added that, unlike his father, he is not a politician. 

The governor’s office did not respond to requests for comment from the Republic, and The Washington Post reported that a spokesperson for the governor and Jack Ducey did not immediately respond when contacted. 

The Hill has reached out to the governor’s office for comment on the footage. 

While the elder Ducey has resisted imposing statewide mask mandates, curfews or other far-reaching restrictions amid the pandemic, he has repeatedly urged Arizona residents to avoid indoor gatherings and to practice social distancing. 

In a news conference in early December, the governor announced expanded health and safety requirements for public events approved by cities and counties, while also relaxing regulations on restaurants to promote eateries to shift from indoor to outdoor dining. 

“I believe that Arizonans are smart, and given the facts of how they can protect themselves and their loved ones, by and large, they will do that,” he said at the time. 

On Monday, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) tracker reported that Arizona has become the state with the highest rate of new COVID-19 infections, surpassing neighboring California as well as other hotspots in South Carolina and Tennessee. 

The state hit a record number of hospitalizations resulting from the virus last month, with more than 4,300 hospitalized across the state with coronavirus. 

Ducey briefly implemented stay-at-home measures last spring but declared as early as May that the state was “clearly on the other side of this pandemic” and relaxed the restrictions.