Liberals are desperate to change how voters feel about the economy, and those efforts aren’t going so well.
Last week, New York Times columnist David Brooks attempted to debunk voters’ negative perceptions about the economy by taking a photo of his meal at Newark Liberty International Airport, a burger and fries, which he claimed cost him $78 and that the high price of the meal was “why Americans think the economy is terrible.”
The tweet/post went viral… for all the wrong reasons. While few dispute that his bill did come to $78, Brooks was quickly mocked for leaving out important context, identifiable because of the alcoholic beverage shown in the photo. Brooks’ tab likely was $78, not because of the meal, which only cost $17, according to the menu of the establishment where he dined. Two double whiskeys would have brought the bill to the amount he lamented in the post.
For some strange reason, though, Sen. John Fetterman decided to weigh in to make a random attack on Fox News. He posted a picture of himself, clad in his signature hoodie, with the quip, “This hoodie cost me $78. This is why Fox News thinks the economy is terrible.”
This hoodie cost me $78. This is why Fox News thinks the economy is terrible. https://t.co/z05AvhpdSz pic.twitter.com/2MLHQPF7Xj
— Senator John Fetterman (@SenFettermanPA) September 22, 2023
Fetterman was quickly owned on the platform, with users calling him out. One user noted that the hoodie doesn’t actually cost $78 but ranges from $27.49 to $59.99, depending on when it was bought and whether it was on sale.
Related: John Fetterman Admits He Dresses ‘Like a Slob’
But that doesn’t mean that Fetterman didn’t accidentally make an interesting point. As Logan Dobson, political and public affairs operative at Targeted Victory, noted, the price of Carhartt hoodies has gone up 20% since Joe Biden took office.
“i mean the tweet is ~viral~ but i took 10 seconds to check prices on carhartt hoodies and it turns out yup they’re up 20% in price since Biden was inaugurated and that kind of inflation is noticed by Americans,” Dobson posted on X/Twitter, with an accompanying chart.
i mean the tweet is ~viral~ but i took 10 seconds to check prices on carhartt hoodies and it turns out yup they're up 20% in price since Biden was inaugurated and that kind of inflation is noticed by Americans https://t.co/J0GtC6zNd4 https://t.co/mz8Reuxw9k pic.twitter.com/08G36kmuqz
— Logan Dobson (@LoganDobson) September 22, 2023
Of course, both Fetterman and Brooks attempted in their posts to claim the economy isn’t doing as badly as people think. They tried to do this by mocking allegations of high costs as proof that things are better than people believe them to be — all while missing the point that a big factor in voter perceptions of the economy is inflation. Since Biden took office, inflation has driven up prices of almost everything, making it harder for many Americans to make ends meet.
In the end, both men proved just how out of touch they are with average Americans and the problems they face in the Biden economy.
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