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This takes the term “red meat issue” to a whole new level.
On Friday, FOX pundit John Roberts suggested that President Joe Biden was scheming to ban burgers as part of his climate change plan. In a graphic, FOX warned that under Biden’s plan, Americans would be limited to one burger per month.
If it sounds too weird to be true, that’s because it isn’t true at all, but try telling that to Gov. Greg Abbott.
On Monday, the Department of Agriculture set the record straight, telling The Hill that a burger ban is “not part of the climate change plan nor the emissions targets. It is not real.”
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Still, many prominent Republicans took the bait, including Abbott, who assured beef-loving Texans that burgers would never be banned on his watch.
“Not gonna happen in Texas!” he said in a tweet, which included a screengrab of FOX’s false claims.
Not gonna happen in Texas! pic.twitter.com/zqYS9kH8CU
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) April 25, 2021
Of course, some on Twitter were quick to criticize Abbott for swallowing the bogus claim.
“Not gonna happen anywhere, you delusional goofball, because it’s not a real thing,” wrote user @itsJeffTiedrich.
not gonna happen anywhere, you delusional goofball, because it's not a real thing
— Jeff Tiedrich (@itsJeffTiedrich) April 26, 2021
Another brought up some of Texas’ own failings.
“The fact that the Texas GOP is willing to put up a bigger fight against an imaginary campaign than to fix the failed electric grid should tell you everything you need to know about them,” said user @SuperDuperSJW.
The fact that the Texas GOP is willing to put up a bigger fight against an imaginary campaign than to fix the failed electric grid should tell you everything you need to know about them.
— Dissident (@SuperDuperSJW) April 26, 2021
And other users didn’t mince words.
“That’s not in his plan, you fucking moron,” wrote Parker Molloy, editor-at-large for Media Matters for America.
That’s not in his plan, you fucking moron
— Parker Molloy (@ParkerMolloy) April 25, 2021
Larry Kudlow, former White House economic adviser under President Donald Trump, further speculated that Biden would soon ban burgers and steaks on July 4, according to HuffPost.
Roberts’ reporting was inspired by a misleading Daily Mail article that suggested ways the U.S. could meet a 50% cut in emissions under Biden. The piece cited a 2020 University of Michigan study that suggested cutting back on meat would lead to such a decrease.
FOX further linked the study to Biden by claiming Americans would have to slash 90% of red meat from their diet. It also claimed that Biden’s climate plan would restrict Americans’ meat intake to 4 pounds per year.
Trump’s son Donald Jr. also latched onto that false stat.
“I’m pretty sure I ate 4 pounds of red meat yesterday,” he said in a tweet.
Although Abbott has yet to break his silence, Roberts later had to issue one heifer of a correction.
