Senator Ted Cruz was shut down on social media after he attempted to mock Jill Biden over the Biden administration’s announcement of considering regulating or possibly banning gas stoves.
The Texas senator joined a chorus of conservatives taking a dig at the Biden administration by sharing a 2020 picture of the first lady cooking leafy vegetables on a gas stove.
He captioned the photo with the popular turn of phrase, “rules for thee but not for me”, suggesting hypocrisy on the part of the administration.
Other Republicans raised alarmist criticism directed at the government, like former White House physician Ronny Jackson, who tweeted, “If the maniacs in the White House come for my stove, they can pry it from my cold dead hands. COME AND TAKE IT!!”
Senator Tom Cotton wrote an op-ed in Fox News to slam “Biden’s woke military” and Marjorie Taylor Greene called the government “idiots”.
But it was Mr Cruz’s attempt to mock Ms Biden that came under harsh criticism online after Twitter users reminded him of his infamous trip to Cancún in February 2021 when his home state reeled with massive power outages due to a severe winter storm.
“Been on any good trips to Cancun lately?” wrote one Twitter user.
“Ooooo, I get it now, this is y’all’s new dumbass talking point,” a Twitter user named Ricky Flores said.
Another user called him out for trolling others, saying: “What is it that you actually do with our tax dollars, because trolling can’t ACTUALLY be it, can it Ted?”
One user shared his airport pictures from Cancún airport and said “heat for thee but not for me”.
At the time, the Texas Republican was accused of abandoning millions of Texans during the calamity and later had to admit that the vacation was a “mistake”. He claimed he took the trip upon his daughter’s request after her school was cancelled.
Concerns were sparked on Monday after a Bloomberg report said the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) was considering a possible ban or regulation on gas stoves due to indoor-air health concerns.
Giving clarity on the topic, the commission’s commissioner Richard Trumka said the “CPSC isn’t coming for anyone’s gas stoves” but was instead looking for ways to make them safer.
A White House spokesperson had also said on Wednesday that Joe Biden does not support banning gas stoves.
