Spanish leader Teresa Ribera went viral after she pulled a fake bike ride to a climate conference held by the European Union, a move reminiscent of U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s 2021 bike stunt.
Video surfaced on social media on Tuesday from the EU 2023 ES conference held in Madrid, Spain, that showed Ribera riding a bike to the conference. However, now Ribera is facing a backlash after it was revealed as nothing but reportedly a PR stunt, TimesNowNews reported.
According to information provided to the outlet, Ribera reportedly took a private jet and chauffeured cars to the conference — which is supposedly focused on dealing with the effects of carbon dioxide emissions on the climate — before getting out of the vehicle around 328 feet from the event and riding a bike the remaining distance to the venue.
Lo de Teresa Ribera de hacer que llegas en bicicleta a una cumbre del clima, recorriendo apenas un centenar de metros, escoltada por dos coches gasolina blindados es otra de las imágenes que definen perfectamente a este gobierno. pic.twitter.com/qME80Oon4z
— Froilán I de España 🇪🇸 (@FroilLannister) July 10, 2023
Ribera’s official title is the Minister of Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge for Spain, the piece noted.
One Twitter user wrote, per the report, “Teresa Ribera’s thing about making you arrive by bicycle at a climate summit, traveling just a hundred meters, escorted by two armored gasoline cars is another of the images that perfectly define this government.”
Spain's ecological transition minister, Teresa Ribera, reportedly flew on a private jet to attend a climate conference, traveled in a gas powered motorcade and just before arriving, got out and rode a bicycle to the event, still flanked by two security cars.
Pretty much sums up… pic.twitter.com/m3rgMpAr0e
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) July 11, 2023
Conservative host Charlie Kirk tweeted, “Spain’s ecological transition minister, Teresa Ribera, reportedly flew on a private jet to attend a climate conference, traveled in a gas powered motorcade and just before arriving, got out and rode a bicycle to the event, still flanked by two security cars. Pretty much sums up the climate cult in one scene.”
While another account tweeted that Ribera was a “climate hypocrite.”
Climate Hypocrite.
Far Left Spanish minister Teresa Ribera used a private jet to attend a climate conference in Madrid.
100 yards before the venue she gets out of her limo and takes a bicycle. A security motorcade then followed her. pic.twitter.com/Cr5jcQpvb4
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) July 11, 2023
“Far Left Spanish minister Teresa Ribera used a private jet to attend a climate conference in Madrid,” the tweet read. “100 yards before the venue she gets out of her limo and takes a bicycle. A security motorcade then followed her.”
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg biked to the White House for today's Cabinet Meeting, it would appear. pic.twitter.com/XfYRB3COqm
— DJ Judd (@DJJudd) April 1, 2021
In April 2021, Buttigieg was mocked online for what was called a “phony” stunt after video of his security detail delivering his bike via SUV sparked rumors that he had driven most of the way to a cabinet meeting and then biked a short distance for show.