Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY), chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), was already in the news earlier this week for his disastrous segment on NBC's "Meet the Press" where he encouraged Americans to stock up on "Chef Boyardee" in order to "fight inflation." Our friends at Twitchy picked up on the reaction.
According to a report from The New York Post, Maloney's comments came during an interview with Halston Media’s owner Brett Freeman. "Well, I grew up in a family where if the gas price went up, the food price went down, so by this time of the week we’d be eating Chef Boyardee if that budget wasn’t gonna change," he said. "So that’s what families have to do."
Maloney also went on to tout Democratic proposals as a way to curb inflation, as other Democrats have done. These include focusing on Medicare expenses and prescription costs, which may or may not directly affect every family suffering from inflation.
The congressman also played up the misnamed "Inflation Reduction Act," even though those who voted for the bill have acknowledged it won't do much to curb inflation, especially in the immediate term.
As the report highlighted from the interview:
“That’s long overdue. In addition to that, we’ve released 90 million barrels from the strategic petroleum reserve, that’s what’s taken about $1.30 off the price of a gallon of gas,” he said. “That’s a big help. We’ve got to do more to keep that price from going back up and keep it coming down.”
New programs could be paid for by taxing corporations, he said as he rattled off other initiatives including a surge on the production of energy to drive prices down.
“That’s part of the strategy of the Inflation Reduction Act,” he said. “And all of these strategies together – together with going after price gouging by the way, because these big oil companies are making a fortune off of Putin’s war and the rest. We’ve got to make sure people aren’t profiting off the war.”
In a statement, Maloney's campaign spokeswoman called it "shameful that [Mike] Lawler and Republicans are making light of the struggles families face with making ends meet," referring to Maloney's Republican opponent. She also claimed "Rep. Maloney understands what families are dealing with," and, providing context to the interview, explained, "Rep. Maloney describes his own childhood."
The damage may have already been done, though, given that the remarks were trending on the eve before the election as well as the day of.
The Democrats’ solution for Americans that cannot afford food due to Biden’s inflationary policies is to eat Chef Boyardee.
— Sen. Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) November 7, 2022
Deal with getting pushed onto the subway tracks so we can kill more babies is almost as good as a member of the Working Families Party telling Hudson Valley voters to eat Chef Boyardee. This is an in kind donation to @leezeldin https://t.co/Af2THIgz1O
— Stacey - Restorationist (@ScotsFyre) November 8, 2022
'The people cannot afford bread? Let them eat Chef Boyardee!'
— Michael Knowles (@michaeljknowles) November 7, 2022
—Democrat Congressman @SPMaloney, chairman of the @DCCC
https://t.co/0DAcxhsUWE
Lawler also made use of mentioning Chef Boyardee on Twitter. "He may think it’s funny to tell families to live on Chef Boyardee, but in reality it’s tragic. The food and energy inflation Mr. Maloney caused in Washington is leaving families scared, hungry, and cold," Lawler was also quoted as saying in the New York Post piece.
On Tuesday, voters will serve @spmaloney a dish of @ChefBoyardee cold! https://t.co/wSgArLAnl8
— Mike Lawler (@lawler4ny) November 7, 2022
What does @spmaloney think folks should do as a result of high gas prices and an increase in the cost of groceries: eat @ChefBoyardee! #outoftouch #elitist #millionairemaloney pic.twitter.com/LpqkZ7BDbb
— Mike Lawler (@lawler4ny) November 5, 2022
Maloney may also make news later on Tuesday if he loses his seat. Cook Political Report moved his race into the "Toss Up" category late last month. Should he indeed be defeated, he will be the first sitting chairman to lose his seat in the general election since DCCC Chairman Jim Corman lost in 1980.
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