Father’s Day is traditionally a time for celebrating dads, backyard barbecues, and the obligatory "World's Best Dad" coffee mug. This year, Senator Chuck Schumer took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to share a slice of his Father's Day festivities. Schumer posted a photo of himself manning the grill in his daughter's backyard, a gesture meant to capture the wholesome, familial spirit of the day. What could go wrong? As it turns out, plenty.

The photo showed Schumer grilling what appeared to be raw burger patties with cheese already placed on top. Yes, you read that right—raw patties with cheese. Naturally, social media had a field day with this culinary catastrophe. Comments ranged from the incredulous to the outright scathing. Conservative social media accounts were particularly harsh, seizing the opportunity like a dog with a bone to lambast the Senator's grilling skills according to Fox News.

Criticism of Schumer’s grilling spread like wildfire. Users pointed out that placing cheese on a raw burger patty was a rookie mistake, equating it with the kind of faux pas that might even get one exiled from future barbecues. Others suggested Schumer might need a refresher course in “Grilling 101.”

In response to the deluge of negative feedback, Schumer decided to delete the post, a digital act of contrition that only served to further fan the flames of online mockery. The original faux pas might have been forgotten in a news cycle or two, but the act of deleting the post itself became a topic of discussion. Fox News reported that the intense backlash led to this hasty decision.

However, not everyone was ready to flip Schumer over the coals. Some users came to his defense, suggesting that the patty in question might not have been raw or perhaps it was a veggie patty, known for their more forgiving cooking requirements as noted by the New York Post. Despite these attempts to douse the criticism, the image of Schumer grilling with cheese on raw meat was already seared into the internet’s collective consciousness.

Interestingly, the grilling debacle did not eclipse Schumer’s other Father's Day post, which remained online despite the deletion of the now-infamous photo. This remaining post served as a quiet reminder that even when digital flames are quelled, the charred memory remains.

Schumer may not win “barbecue king” this year, but he certainly won the title of “most grilled online.” In the grand theater of social media, where every misstep is magnified and amplified, his experience serves as a timely reminder: think twice before you tweet, and maybe, just maybe, consider leaving the cheese off until the burger is fully cooked.

With political climes as heated as they are, one might have hoped for a more chilled Father's Day experience. But alas, in the age of the internet, even a senator’s backyard barbecue can quickly become the main course for public scrutiny.