There are a number of topics that GOP politicians know are like red meat to their base — illegal immigration, gun control, trans people using the “wrong” bathroom and, well, actual red meat. This last item was confirmed this week when the right-wing echo chambered blasted out at high decibels the manufactured nonsense that Joe Biden is planning to cut 90 percent of the red meat currently allotted to Americans, all in order to combat climate change. Texas Governor Greg Abbott was among the many Republicans spreading this fatuity, further alleging that Biden would restrict citizens to a mere four pounds of red meat a year and one burger per month.
As Ana and Cenk note in this clip, the allegation comes from an entirely speculative premise proposed in an article appearing in the far-from-reliable UK tabloid the Daily Mail. The piece’s author theorizes about possible outcomes from Biden’s vague proposal to cut US emissions in half by 2030. Nowhere in Biden’s plan is red meat mentioned nor rationing of said meat. Right wingers like Lauren Boebert retweeted the Daily Mail speculation as fact, however, and then the wildfire of bullshit began to spread from there.
Watch the full clip to hear:
- How non-right media outlets responded differently to this story from how they typically act
- How little respect Greg Abbott and other elected Republicans have for their own voters
- Cenk and Ana disagreeing over the level of ignorance demonstrated by Republican voters
- How the right uses these false narratives to distract and deflect attention away from the reality of climate change