If ever there was proof of Fox News’ dishonest take on the news, it’s their seemingly endless defiance over a non-existent ban on gas stoves.
On Monday, Richard Trumka Jr., of the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, suggested that harmful emissions from gas stoves might warrant a ban. He was talking about new stoves, not seizing any existing stoves. Two days later, the head of the agency clarified there is no plan to ban gas stoves, but it is researching emissions from stoves and seeking public comment on the issue.
But Fox News and their right-wing pals ignored the facts in order to ignite another divisive culture war over this fake poutrage. And, of course, they scoffed at the real perils of gas stoves while they were at it. Media Matters has a good roundup that includes Tucker Carlson suggesting “mass disobedience in the face of tyranny” over the non-existent ban. Jesse Watters called it “just a ploy” to “force their green industrial revolution on us, whether we want it or not,” and to sell “more stuff the Democrats are selling.” Possibly the stupidest Fox News host ever, Rachel Campos-Duffy, whined that Biden is racist because she thinks she wouldn’t be able to heat her tortillas without a gas stove.
My first thought is how will I heat my tortillas???!!! Biden so racist.
— Rachel Campos-Duffy (@RCamposDuffy) January 9, 2023
This war on gas stoves is (no surprise) a war on the poor & working class since cooking w/ gas is cheaper. Biden Administration always looking for new was to make Americans poorer! https://t.co/WFsZBXyffm
While these elites have been playing the oppressed victims, they conveniently rejected the science that shows gas stoves pose real harm. “[C]onservative media figures are insisting that all of these studies must be politically motivated and therefore unreliable,” Media Matters notes. “They claim any ban would be unrelated to public health and would simply enable extreme government overreach. And, further establishing a throughline between climate change skepticism and anti-vax sentiments, some have compared the ban to COVID-19 vaccine mandates.”
Yesterday, the war on the make-believe ban continued on Fox’s Cavuto Live, with guest Stratis Morfogen, a restauranteur.
“Government, for the last three years, it’s complete government overreach,” Morfogen complained. “They’re asking the wrong question. The question they should ask is, how can we improve?”
Morfogen said he is “concerned about staying as green as possible” and that an electric kitchen “actually works with some fast casual restaurants.” But, he added, “it’s not one size fits all, and that’s the problem with government, when they tap into small businesses when they’ve never run a lemonade stand, they’re making decisions for us that don’t work.”
Then, despite the fact that he said some electric kitchens do work, Morfogen claimed a ban would “halt growth completely.
Host Neil Cavuto offered some rare Fox truth on the subject, saying, “there’s something inherently dangerous” about gas stoves “for respiratory or compromised respiratory systems.”
But restauranteur Morfogen claimed to know better. “I don’t believe that, but there’s always ways of improvement,” he said.
Yet, Cavuto gave Morfogen the stamp of approval anyway. Cavuto said, “He knows of what he speaks, a lot of restaurants. He’s flexible, but that’s his call, not the government’s call.”
Never mind that the government didn’t make the call.
You can watch Fox weaponize fake news below, from the January 14, 2023 Cavuto Live.
