President Obama decided to share his thoughts on what makes a proper guacamole on Twitter today. According to him, peas should not be included:
respect the nyt, but not buying peas in guac. onions, garlic, hot peppers. classic. https://t.co/MEEI8QHH1V
— President Obama (@POTUS) July 1, 2015
1) Why in the world is Obama tweeting about peas and guacamole?
The president was taking questions about health care and the Affordable Care Act in a Twitter Q&A session:
Hello from Nashville! I'll be answering your questions on health care and the Affordable Care Act at 3:30pm ET. Tweet yours using #AskPOTUS.
— President Obama (@POTUS) July 1, 2015
So naturally, Justin Green, the political editor of IJReview, asked the president about the afternoon's most pressing Twitter controversy — whether peas should be included in guacamole:
#AskPOTUS Do you agree with the @nytimes about putting peas in guacamole? If yes, why?
— JustinGreen∞ (@JGreenDC) July 1, 2015
2) Why had pea guacamole become controversial on Twitter?
Earlier in the afternoon, the New York Times sent the following Tweet, with a link to a recipe:
Add green peas to your guacamole. Trust us. http://t.co/7imMY9c2ph pic.twitter.com/oeOMt2qgmh
— The New York Times (@nytimes) July 1, 2015
The absurd suggestion — and the Times' assurance that we should "trust" it — had already led to many expressions of outrage, particularly on politics and journalism Twitter, before President Obama weighed in:
The @nytimes declared war on Texas when they suggested adding green peas to guacamole. http://t.co/EDTqbzzsyE pic.twitter.com/FHjTvCaNj7
— Texas GOP (@TexasGOP) July 1, 2015
You don't put peas in guacamole https://t.co/kG3ewrVv6f
— Jeb Bush (@JebBush) July 1, 2015
Glad @JebBush stood up for the integrity of guacamole on @jimmyfallon. No! There are no peas in guacamole.
— Ana Navarro (@ananavarro) June 17, 2015
3) Hold on. Jimmy Fallon asked Jeb Bush about peas and guacamole weeks ago?
Indeed he did, as the above video, unearthed by BuzzFeed News, shows. "Have you ever tried peas in your guacamole?" Fallon asked. "We don't do peas in guacamole," Bush responded.
Fallon explained: "You put English peas in the guacamole and mix it up—" But Bush cut him off, shaking his head, "I'm afraid not. No, no." Fallon laughed and said, "Really, you really gotta try it!"
So apparently the guacamole-pea conspiracy goes deeper than we ever imagined. But luckily, our bipartisan political elites have united in support of common sense and good taste.