There are a lot of problems with America, and Republican lawmakers and commentators have done their best to make a few seem extra scarier to their base. (Some have even done inhumane stunts that have landed them in potential legal hot water.) One issue is inflation. Do they have any real solutions on how to combat high prices? Not really. But they can scare people by making it seem even worse. On Fox Business Wednesday, one commentator went a bit too far, making a claim about the bill at a fast food joint that even colleagues found a bit suspect.
Fox Business contributor: “You want to know how bad inflation is? Yesterday, yes, I had a nice lunch at Taco Bell — cost me about $28 at Taco Bell for lunch.”
Um, how is that even physically possible? (Also, don’t think I’ll take financial advice from this guy.) pic.twitter.com/cdK39TlLO8
— Eric Kleefeld (@EricKleefeld) October 12, 2022
That person is Scott Martin, a honcho at a wealth management company and a Fox News contributor. He’s no household name, but on Wednesday he went viral for claiming he’d blown a ton on Taco Bell.
“You wanna know how bad inflation is?” Martin asked. “Yesterday, I had a nice lunch at Taco Bell — cost me about 28 dollars at Taco Bell for lunch.” If that seems like a lot, then you aren’t alone. Even anchor Neil Cavuto was incredulous, partially because Martin doesn’t look like he can house that much faux-Mexican food. “For me, that’s the opening appetizer,” he cracked.
So what happened? Did Martin really load up on chalupas and gorditas, maybe even some Cinnabon delights? Was it those darned UberEats fees? Well, no, what he really did was order poorly and pay more than he had to by not ordering some of them as combo deal packages. He could have only spent about $23 on Taco Bell!
Order up! pic.twitter.com/pPmyBGLQH0
— Scott Martin (@ScottyMarkets) October 12, 2022
Whatever the case, a lot of people found Martin’s claim of gorging on nearly 30 bucks of Taco Bell to be impossible, or at least worrying.
You absolutely did not eat $28 of Taco Bell on your own without it involving another $200 in alcohol and drugs https://t.co/zPMNsLdrKZ
— Shane Nicholson (@ofvoid) October 12, 2022
$28 of Taco Bell could kill a HORSE https://t.co/o5Wmg2di9T
— josé (@_jaaay6) October 12, 2022
https://twitter.com/chipfranklin/status/1580332904215109632
https://twitter.com/joshsteimle/status/1580285928211238912
I do not want to experience the consequences of eating $28 worth of Taco Bell https://t.co/AbfwsbxtmX
— Kathryn Watson (@kathrynw5) October 12, 2022
https://twitter.com/Pizza__Dad/status/1580313029857595392
https://twitter.com/thejasonkirk/status/1580244160917172224
https://twitter.com/BigBearDoinStuf/status/1580290309942317057
Some broke down what 28 bucks at Taco Bell gets you.
absolute respect to this complete legend. here is approximately what you can buy for $28 at taco bell right now: 12 tacos, four sodas, upwards of 4,000 calories. https://t.co/vRJlqjmbzw pic.twitter.com/wpiBp6IEP4
— maxwell (@maxwellstrachan) October 12, 2022
$28 buys you like 7 Chalupa Supremes tho https://t.co/BZ7nwKvXLE
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 12, 2022
There were also, of course, lots of poop jokes.
His toilet after consuming $28 of Taco Bell all for himself for lunch pic.twitter.com/TXIO8EtXFG
— ZHR (@ZHRdownbad) October 12, 2022
Hey Fox News, if you’re eating $28 of Taco Bell in one sitting, you have a problem but it’s not inflation
— Palmer Report (@PalmerReport) October 12, 2022
Dog if you ate $28 of Taco Bell you would not be on tv right now. Youd be on the toilet. https://t.co/Dbqdx52xxl
— Andrew Southworth (@south776) October 12, 2022
Dog if you ate $28 of Taco Bell you would not be on tv right now. Youd be on the toilet. https://t.co/Dbqdx52xxl
— Andrew Southworth (@south776) October 12, 2022
https://twitter.com/Total_NV/status/1580287845058502656
Some didn’t see a problem with ordering $28 in Taco Bell.
I have absolutely, 100% spent $28 at a Taco Bell. AMA. https://t.co/T3Wvyp7kPJ
— Justin Tasolides (@JTasTasTas) October 12, 2022
As someone who eats 28$ of Taco Bell frequently, yes. 100% https://t.co/bHzwO4K0UZ
— Bob (@bmitchem226) October 12, 2022
Meanwhile, over at Defector, reporter Patrick Redford bravely accepted the job of biking to one of the joints, ordering his own $28 (or thereabouts) meal, then eating it all. So how did that go?
Somehow I wrote the above (I think) incisive paragraph, as well as the moronic ones surrounding it, after crushing my tray full of garbage. I ate it all. I did not buy or bring a drink. I rode my bike home as the gunk sloshed in my stomach and my body’s alarm system began to ring. The effects of the sodium felt akin to a mild hallucinogen. My lips puckered, my mind felt untethered from my body, floating above me as I rode (unfortunately uphill) back home as if it was trying to distance itself from the damage it had caused. My colleagues expressed their sympathy for me, but mostly for my partner, who works very hard at a normal job and was making work calls while I was destroying my body for a stupid blog post.
He’s not the only one who can eat a lot of Taco Bell. Uproxx writers have done it, too, albeit not all in one sitting.