Rush Limbaugh calls Michelle Obama a hypocrite after First Lady reportedly eats ribs on ski vacation
Nina MandellMonday, February 21st 2011, 4:25 PM
Herbert/AP
First lady Michelle Obama, seen here at a "Let's Move" event, angered Rush Limbaugh with her dietary choices last weekend.
Edmonds/AP
Rush Limbaugh disapproved of her choice of ribs.
He may be no model of fitness himself, but Rush Limbaugh thinks Michelle Obama could stand to shed a few pounds.
Especially before telling other people what to eat.
The conservative talk show host slammed the First Lady in his radio show Monday after she was spotted in Colorado snacking on some short ribs. The vacation dinner, Limbaugh charged, went against the First Lady's emphasis on promoting nutrition and exercise.
And he didn't exactly mince words.
"The problem is, and dare I say this, it doesn't look like Michelle Obama follows her own nutritionary, dietary advice," he said. "And then we hear that she's out eating ribs at 1,500 calories a serving with 141 grams of fat per serving ... I'm trying to say that our First Lady does not project the image of women that you might see on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue or of a woman Alex Rodriguez might date every six months or what have you."
The First Lady's health initiatives encourage people to make better choices about what foods they eat, and emphasizes getting enough fruits and vegetables daily. She also encourages everyone, especially children, to get outside and exercise in her "Let's Move" campaign.
"We want to make sure that people understand this is about overall health and physical fitness is ... something that I stress in my household. It is a part of that. It's a natural part of your life," she said on Good Morning America earlier this month. "My kids have to get up and move. They can't sit in front of the TV. I have my girls involved in sports because I want them, as young women, to understand what it feels like to compete and to win and to run and to sweat. ... This is about all of that, as well."
When the diet report was published by a Colorado newspaper, she was at a Vail resort skiing with daughters Sasha and Malia. She took them to Restaurant Kelly Liken in Vail Village on Saturday night, according to Vail Daily, where she ate a braised ancho-chile short rib with hominy wild mushrooms and sautéed kale. She also began the meal with a pickled pumpkin salad with arugala.
"Yes, it's true, the first lady dined at our restaurant tonight and seemed to really enjoy it," restaurant chef and owner Kelly Liken told the newspaper.
Limbaugh's not the first conservative to slam her nutrition choices. Fellow conservative darling Sarah Palin often ridicules the First Lady's efforts, arguing it's not up to the Obamas or the government to tell Americans what to eat.
"What she is telling us is she cannot trust parents to make decisions for their own children, for their own families in what we should eat," the ex-Alaska governor told radio host Laura Ingraham in November. "Instead of a government thinking that they need to take over and make decisions for us according to some politician's or politician's wife's priorities, just leave us alone . . . "
Limbaugh suggested he just didn't think the Obamas were following their own advice.
"She's a hypocrite. Leaders are supposed to be leaders. If we're supposed to go out and eat nothing, if we're supposed to eat roots and berries and tree bark, show us how," he ranted.
LINK TO VIDEO:
May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008