The Internet Is Fuming At Andrew Yang. Here's Why

If you are a New Yorker (or just love all things politics), chances are you know about Andrew Yang. The entrepreneur is running for mayor of New York City after his (unsuccessful) run for president in 2020. Although he suspended his presidential campaign in February 2020, his #YangGang fan base continues to grow.

There are only 10 weeks left before New York City votes in the primaries, and Yang has a decent shot of becoming the next mayor, according to CNN. Although he loves the city, the politician got some heat for tweeting about "enforcing rules against unlicensed street vendors." He went on to say that "we should do more for the retailers who are paying rent and trying to survive." Yang later apologized for his remarks, and told the media he "regrets" talking about it on social media, according to the New York Post.

But that's not the real reason why the Internet is up in arms over Yang in this instance. Keep reading for more details.

The Internet celebrated National Pet Day on April 11, 2021 and Andrew Yang joined in on the festivities. Yang shared photos of his former dog on Twitter, but faced a lot of backlash when he explained why he had to give him up. Yang wrote, "On #NationalPetsDay celebrating our dog Grizzly who we raised as a puppy but had to give away because one of our boys became allergic to him. Miss you Grizz! #dogsforyang"

According to the New York Post, Yang was "in denial" that Grizzly was the cause of his son's allergies. His wife Evelyn convinced him that they needed to give up the dog. "Then there was one night when Christopher had a respiratory attack and had a hard time breathing. And that's when I knew we had to give our dog away," he said. When asked why he shared the photo of his former dog, Yang replied, "it felt very natural." 

"You know, it was National Pet Day and we still have a pet in our hearts, so I didn't really think much of it," he added. Critics took Yang to task on Twitter, and one person wrote, "I would recommend removing this. You don't give away pets because of this...or at least, you don't admit it." Others, of course, came to Yang's defense. One user wrote, "What are they supposed to do? Give their child away? He didn't say he abandoned the dog."

Sure,, it might be a weird tidbit to share, but as Yang's wife noted, Grizzly appears to be living his best life.