Washington Post columnist Marc Thiessen’s decision to deliver tough love about the cost of living backfired spectacularly on Wednesday as he became a target of the populist right — with even the vice president taking a potshot.
The pile-on started after Turning Point USA’s Andrew Kolvet relayed a college student’s complaint that “a burrito shouldn’t cost $20.” Thiessen, an American Enterprise Institute fellow and former George W. Bush speechwriter, fired back: “Cry me a river. The burritos in the college cafeteria are included in your meal plan.”
The reply sent MAGA world into a frenzy.
Leading the charge was Vice President JD Vance, who mocked Thiessen’s dismissiveness with a jab at his waistline.
“I’m surprised to hear Mark say this,” Vance wrote. “If you’ve ever met him in person, it’s quite obvious the man has never missed a burrito.”
Vance has repeatedly clashed with the party’s old-guard economic voices, drawing a Fox Business scolding earlier this summer for attacking free-market icon Milton Friedman.
Kolvet held his ground, noting a Chipotle burrito can run close to $20 — “not exactly luxury dining,” while others turned Thiessen into a punchline. MAGA pundit Ryan Girdusky quoted “Arrested Development,” writing on X, “It’s one burrito Michael… what could it cost, $20?“
“‘Cry me a river’ is not a winning message,” chimed in conservative Gen Z activist CJ Pearson, arguing dismissiveness won’t hold “the fragile coalition of disaffected young voters” who returned Trump to power. Turning Point’s Gabe Guidarini went further, saying “think-tank-types like Marc” who preach a “market knows better than you” gospel are the reason “actual socialists like Mamdani and El-Sayed take advantage.”
Democratic socialist Abdul El-Sayed just won Michigan’s Senate primary as affordability has become the GOP’s Achilles’ heel. The same issue sent Vance scrambling on “The View” in June to explain away Trump calling the crisis “a hoax.”
CNN journalist Andrew Kaczynski twisted the knife on X, writing: “Amazing how the think tank types cheering for open-ended Iran War and its limitless costs suddenly become budgethawks when ordinary Americans complain about food prices.”
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