Well, This Certainly Isn't The Wednesday Morning That Bumble Bee Tuna Expected
I've written about many topics that could accurately be described as "wacky," or "horrifying." But even in a year filled with consternation and surprises, I definitely didn't expect to be writing about how Donald Trump, the president of the United States of America, went on stage and name checked Bumble Bee Tuna while claiming—without evidence—that Black Lives Matter protestors are hucking cans of tuna at police officers.
Donald Trump claims protesters are throwing "cans of tuna fish": "They go out and buy tuna fish and soup. You know that, right?... Because they throw it. It's the perfect weight, tuna fish, they can really rip it, right? And that hits you. No, it's true. Bumble Bee brand tuna." pic.twitter.com/hxTcq7dyfa
— American Journal News (@AmerJournalNews) September 23, 2020
This, of course, isn't true. While protestors do, in fact, seem to have thrown food at police officers, there's no evidence that their weaponized horn of plenty has included cans of tuna (although according to the Portland Police department it has included at least one can of White Claw and a can of low sodium garbanzo beans.)
But in the absence of evidence—a space that Trump delights in inhabiting—the story has taken on an amazing life of its own. Protest Twitter has (at least for now) enthusiastically begun to embrace canned tuna as a symbol of resistance and even Bumble Bee's typically lethargic Twitter account has weighed in:
Eat em. Don't throw em.
— Bumble Bee Seafoods (@BumbleBeeFoods) September 23, 2020
While I've written about Bumble Bee Tuna before in less-than-glowing terms, it's hard not to have a moment of sympathy for its publicists. Donald Trump's ability to cause chaos is seemingly without limits, but there's no way Bumble Bee's folks could have anticipated that they'd be accused this particular mishegoss. So, to piggyback on the words of The Takeout's staff writer Allison Robicelli, a moment of silence for the employees who now have to deal with this.