North Carolina senate candidate commits grievous sin: confusing grilling for barbecuing
You've got to hand it to North Carolina — they have some truly scrumptious scandals down in the Tar Heel State.
Democratic Senate candidate Cal Cunningham found himself in hot water on Monday night after tweeting a photo of himself standing next to a gas grill, spatula in hand as he apparently readied hot dogs and hamburgers. "There's nothing better than BBQ — except for winning this Senate seat, of course," he wrote as a caption.
But North Carolinians quickly took issue with the fact that "the tweet itself appears to suggest, wrongly, that barbecue can be made on a gas grill, or worse, that grilling falls within the realm of barbecue," explains the Raleigh-based News & Observer. Sure enough, Cunningham was soon the target of many angry foodies online:
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sure enough, the North Carolina GOP even issued a statement, slamming Cunningham by writing, "In North Carolina, we have Eastern BBQ and Western BBQ but neither involves a spatula, hot dog buns or gas grills. Cunningham is an elitist trial lawyer, and this BBQ gaffe demonstrates that he is out of touch with North Carolina voters who actually know what North Carolina BBQ is."
Cunningham, a native of Lexington, quickly backtracked, telling The News & Observer that he would never mix up grilling with barbecuing. "No self-respecting son of Lexington would ever do that," he emphasized, claiming he'd only used the term because he was showing off his new campaign swag, an apron which reads — perhaps now rather audaciously — "Ambassador for North Carolina BBQ."
-
The elite falcon trade in the Middle EastUnder the Radar Popularity of the birds of prey has been ‘soaring’ despite doubts over the legality of sourcing and concerns for animal welfare
-
A running list of the international figures Donald Trump has pardonedin depth The president has grown bolder in flexing executive clemency powers beyond national borders
-
Mixed nuts: RFK Jr.’s new nutrition guidelines receive uneven reviewsTalking Points The guidelines emphasize red meat and full-fat dairy
-
‘One Battle After Another’ wins Critics Choice honorsSpeed Read Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest film, which stars Leonardo DiCaprio, won best picture at the 31st Critics Choice Awards
-
Son arrested over killing of Rob and Michele ReinerSpeed Read Nick, the 32-year-old son of Hollywood director Rob Reiner, has been booked for the murder of his parents
-
Rob Reiner, wife dead in ‘apparent homicide’speed read The Reiners, found in their Los Angeles home, ‘had injuries consistent with being stabbed’
-
Hungary’s Krasznahorkai wins Nobel for literatureSpeed Read László Krasznahorkai is the author of acclaimed novels like ‘The Melancholy of Resistance’ and ‘Satantango’
-
Primatologist Jane Goodall dies at 91Speed Read She rose to fame following her groundbreaking field research with chimpanzees
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, StalloneSpeed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
