Slovenly-dressed Sen. John Fetterman was left red-faced last week after after his attempted dig at coverage of a a New York Times columnist’s viral tweet about inflation got a rigorous fact-check.
Fetterman, 54, had taken to X, formerly known as Twitter, to respond to David Brooks’ missive about a $78 lunch that he supposedly ate at Newark Liberty International Airport, which he claimed illustrated Americans’ frustration with a “terrible economy.”
“This hoodie cost me $78. This is why Fox News thinks the economy is terrible,” Fetterman (D-Pa.) wrote Friday, along with a picture of him at a lectern wearing his favorite shabby apparel
Logan Dobson, a consultant and former GOP Senate aide, countered that while the sweatshirt only costs $50, according to its Amazon history, its price has gone up 20% since President Biden took office in January 2021.
“I took 10 seconds to check prices on carhartt [sic] 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 wrote on X.
Brooks had been dragged by the owner of EWR’s 1911 Smoke House BBQ outpost, who noted that the writer’s burger and fries cost only $17, meaning most of his bill was compromised of two double whiskeys, which cost almost $30 each.
The Times columnist later apologized after becoming the subject of widespread ridicule.
“I was insensitive. I screwed up. I should not have written that tweet. I probably should not write any tweets … I made a mistake. It was stupid,” Brooks told PBS.
Fetterman’s outfit of choice on Capitol Hill — basketball shorts and sweatshirts — had led Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to relax the Senate’s formal dress code so the Pennsylvanian could vote on the floor without putting on a business suit.