Why did Orrin Hatch think it was OK to tweet this about those little piglets?

Step away from the Twitter account, Mr. Hatch. With your phone fingers up.

Senator Orrin Hatch, the 83-year-old Republican Senator from Utah, has always been a strong advocate for the meat-eating community: a population that, of course, needs no defense. But the Senator took it way too far Thursday night when he shared a story and inadvertently defended one of the most gruesome viral stories of the past year.

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In Western England this week, a group of firefighters saved 18 adorable baby piglets from a barn fire. To thank the firefighters, the farmer returned the piglets to them -- in the form of piglet sausage.

It's a story that many of us who read "A Day No Pigs Will Die" for a book report find traumatizing. And no, it doesn't matter that the piglets were scheduled to be slaughtered six months later. You shouldn't eat what you save from a barn fire. It's just not worth the step count.

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Hatch responded favorably by calling the story "beautiful."

This is really beautiful. https://t.co/I86xxBi8Bq

— Senator Hatch Office (@senorrinhatch) August 25, 2017

The Senator later clarified that the remark was tongue-in-cheek -- and then doubled down on what he said before.

Note: While this was tongue-in-cheek, its beautiful that these first responders were rewarded for risking their lives with delicious sausage

— Senator Hatch Office (@senorrinhatch) August 25, 2017

The pork industry is responsible for roughly 1,200 jobs in rural Utah --> https://t.co/sVEMYtrhwQ

— Senator Hatch Office (@senorrinhatch) August 25, 2017

Hatch was roasted by the internet, much like the baby pigs the firefighters later roasted.

Yeah, and at least 3 or 4 Senators in Washington, D.C!

— Victor Laszlo (@Jedediah_Cane) August 25, 2017

In his spare time, Sen. Hatch enjoys trolling PETA, voting to take away our health insurance, and being one of those annoying guys who loves bacon way too much.

pic.twitter.com/SXcJN07x2h

— Senator Hatch Office (@senorrinhatch) June 29, 2017

He's third in line for the presidency.

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