As international media outlets descended on Fiserv Forum last week for a walkthrough of the Democratic National Convention — scheduled for July 13-16 — the hosts felt it would be good to welcome outsiders with some good ol’ Wisconsin State Fair-style cream puffs.
The Journal Sentinel’s Bill Glauber shared the hospitality in a tweet, but that’s not where the controversy starts.
Jessie Opoien, opinion editor for Madison’s Cap Times, was the one who got herself in trouble with Evers. She had this controversial take: “Cream puffs are terrible, but don’t hold that against us. Wisconsin has plenty of good foods to offer that are not cream puffs.”
Cream puffs are terrible, but don't hold that against us. Wisconsin has plenty of good foods to offer that are not cream puffs. https://t.co/Ylmx1uSnML
— Jessie Opoien (@jessieopie) January 7, 2020
She further explained: “The pastry is terrible. Just eat cream on a plate if that’s what you want. I won’t judge.”
That’s what caught Evers’ attention. “Jessie, this is just completely wrong,” he tweeted. “What’s next, Wisconsin doesn’t have the best cheese?”
The governor got more than 1,200 likes on the tweet, far surpassing the 260-plus likes on Opoien’s original tweet.
This caught Opoien off-guard.
“I think I’ve been canceled. By the governor,” she said in a follow-up tweet that got even more attention with more than 2,400 likes and over 50 retweets.
CLICK HERE to find out how State Fair cream puffs are made
The story doesn’t end there. Like a missionary spreading the word of the Messiah, Original Cream Puffs — the official cream puff of the Wisconsin State Fair — reached out to Opoien, inviting her to tour the bakery and offering the journalist a chance to change her opinion.
Opoien accepted. No word yet on if she has been converted.
That said, the “Cream Puff saga” is now considered concluded.
Although she didn’t name names, Molly Beck — another politics reporter for the Journal Sentinel — said that a lawmaker asked her the day after the Cream Puff feud: “Didn’t the governor just tweet at you about cream puffs?” Opoien referred to the case of mistaken identity, “The inevitable conclusion of this Cream Puff saga”
Not all journalists look the same. And they certainly don’t all agree on the goodness of cream puffs.
Lawmaker, just now: Didn't the governor just tweet at you about cream puffs? https://t.co/kxKEJ1SWWu
— Molly Beck (@MollyBeck) January 8, 2020
