The Conversation (0)
Darren Richman
Jul 30, 2019
REX
There are certain implementations that seem so obvious you can’t believe they didn’t happen sooner.
In 2007, the smoking ban was introduced and it seemed like the most obvious thing in the world. If anything, it feels almost bizarre that people were able to smoke in restaurants as recently as 12 years ago.
These days the most pressing concern is the environment. Plastic straws tend to be discarded after a solitary use and numerous campaigns in recent years have led companies to switch to paper straws. Plastic straws, stirrers and cotton buds will actually be banned in England from April 2020 as part of plans designed to drastically reduce plastic waste. In California, a ban is already in place.
These initiatives have irritated some people, not least Donald Trump’s campaign manager Brad Parscale. When his paper straw tore in two on a flight to Florida, Parscale was incensed.
With the issue still in the air, the campaign manager reportedly emailed his staff with an email genuinely titled “Making straws great again” with the suggestion that plastic straws become part of the President’s brand. By the time he was back on land, the straws were in production and there was a marketing campaign to boot claiming that 'liberal paper straws don't work.'
The straws are sold at a price of $15 for 10 and Trump’s re-election campaign has already netted nearly $500,000 selling the straws. Which doesn't exactly bode well for Trump's environmental plans.
While the entire idea of the premise is built on the notion that this is some kind of valiant stand against those despicable environmental initiatives that might help humanity survive a little longer, the best part is that the website actually claims the straws are recyclable.
We are officially living in an Onion article.
More: Man tried to attack The Wire creator over Trump's Baltimore tweets and it backfired badly
More: Trump is now selling his own plastic straws because 'liberal paper straws don’t work'
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