Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH) found himself plunged into controversy on Tuesday with a speech in which he suggested low-income people don’t understand “navigating the real world” because they’re accustomed to the government giving them handouts.
“People living in poverty are just not very experienced at navigating the real world, right?” he said. “I remember talking to one young lady who said, ‘Well, I don’t really know how money works at a grocery store,’ because she grew up and has lived all of her adult life using SNAP cards to buy groceries. You literally have to teach people how to budget … the buzzword today, let’s face it, is ‘affordability.’”
His statement quickly earned condemnation from commenters on social media, with Democrats pouncing at lightning speed.
“If anyone doesn’t know how the ‘real world’ works, it’s Jon Husted,” posted former Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), who is running against Husted this year in a bid to return to Congress.
“In the last week in #OHSen, Jon Husted has: been called to testify for his central role in the largest bribery scandal in Ohio history; Claimed the war in Iran is going ‘much better than anyone thought it would’; Said struggling Ohioans can’t navigate ‘the real world,’” wrote Brown’s communications director Lauren Chou.
“Calling Jon Husted out of touch would be an understatement,” wrote the Democratic-aligned Senate Majority PAC.
“Ohio Republican U.S. Sen. Jon Husted shares his thoughts about people living in poverty and how they ‘are just not very, um, experienced at navigating the real world,’” wrote Ohio Capital Journal opinion writer David DeWitt.
“Just when we thought Jon Husted couldn’t get MORE out of touch he surprises us. Husted had the audacity to claim that people in poverty are ‘not very experienced at navigating the real world,’” wrote the progressive group American Bridge.
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