United States President Donald Trump vehemently criticised eco-friendly paper straws, which were promoted by his predecessor, President Joe Biden, and declared that the United States would return to using plastic straws.
Trump took to social media to make his stance clear, stating, "I will be signing an Executive Order next week ending the ridiculous Biden push for Paper Straws, which don’t work. BACK TO PLASTIC!"
Biden, a Democrat, had previously set a target to eliminate single-use plastic utensils, such as drinking straws, by 2035 within government departments.
This latest move by Trump comes as part of his broader approach to environmental issues. Trump had pulled the United States out of the Paris climate change agreement shortly after his inauguration for a second term, and he has repeatedly championed increased oil drilling, famously declaring, "drill, baby, drill."
The growing use of paper straws has long been a point of frustration for Trump. “They want to ban straws. Has anyone tried those paper straws? They're not working too good,” he said during a rally at the height of the 2020 election campaign against Biden. “It disintegrates as you drink it, and if you have a nice tie like this tie, you've got no choice.”
In a further demonstration of his stance, Trump's campaign team sold branded plastic straws emblazoned with the slogan: "Liberal paper straws don't work."
