Awkward!
The vice president, Kamala Harris, shared a Thanksgiving photo on Thursday featuring her and her husband cooking dinner. This picture, however, sparked concerns among conservatives regarding the presence of a gas stove in their kitchen. This scrutiny follows earlier claims in the year that the Biden administration was considering banning gas stoves.
According to Newsweek, Harris posted the image on Twitter with the caption “From our family to yours, happy Thanksgiving.” Observers, including Georgia Republican congressman Mike Collins and America First activist Laura Loomer, highlighted the gas stove in the background. This observation triggered various comments on social media, with some, like Libs of Tiktok, sarcastically referencing the idea of “rules for thee but not for me.”
In January, controversy arose over allegations that the Biden administration was planning to prohibit gas stoves, which are present in an estimated 40 million American households. This stirred discontent among right-wing figures, contributing to the narrative that the federal government was imposing restrictions on Americans’ freedom through climate change policies.
The controversy originated from an interview with a Biden-appointed U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) commissioner, Richard Trumka Jr., who stated that “a ban on gas stoves is on the table” due to health concerns. A study published in December of the previous year linked 12.7 percent of current childhood asthma cases in the U.S. to gas stove use.
Despite Trumka Jr. not explicitly confirming the development of a ban at the time, conservative commentators seized on the issue as evidence of a sinister plot by the Biden administration to control Americans’ lives. It’s worth noting that both the CPSC chair and Trumka Jr. later emphasized that there was no intention to ban gas stoves, with Trumka Jr. clarifying on social media, “To be clear, CPSC isn’t coming for anyone’s gas stoves.” However, this assurance hasn’t deterred some conservatives from using the narrative as a criticism against the Biden administration.
LOOK:
Is that a gas stove? 🧐 https://t.co/ElwpYe8kql
— Rep. Mike Collins (@RepMikeCollins) November 24, 2023