New York Times columnist David Brooks went viral on “Twitter” on Wednesday for a tweet displaying a burger, fries, and a glass of booze. “This meal just cost me $78 at Newark Airport. This is why Americans think the economy is terrible.”
Then “Community Notes” added detail from the New York Post: “The price of the burger and fries is $17, which means that all or part of the other $61 of the tab is due to the glass of whiskey shown in the photo.”
People quickly figured out which restaurant in the airport he had visited, and even the restaurant cooked him on Facebook:
David Brooks is getting cooked on Facebook by an airport bar and grill, social media’s best days are still ahead pic.twitter.com/SVSpMdtwch
— Tom Gara (@tomgara) September 22, 2023
After this display of elitist tone-deafness, Brooks was so roundly mocked that on Friday’s PBS NewsHour, the weekly roundup ended with anchor William Brangham setting the stage for an apology from Brooks. “You got roughed up a little bit online about this. But I’m just curious more about what you were trying to convey with that.” I was watching to see if they would skip over it, and they didn’t.
KUDOS: David Brooks took the end of the Friday @NewsHour roundup to apologize for his “stupid” tweet about spending $78 on burger, fries & bourbon at the Newark airport. The host said he was “roughed up” online. Brooks said hey, I’m an elite journalist, I was insensitive. pic.twitter.com/yJZdxuqXOY
— Tim Graham (@TimJGraham) September 22, 2023
Brooks said it was hatched in his mind as a joke. “If you looked at what I was eating it was bourbon and a very fattening hamburger and fries. I can’t afford to make bad lifestyle choices.”
Then came the apology: “But the problem with the tweet — which I wrote so stupidly — was that it made it seem like I was oblivious to something that is blindingly obvious: that an upper-middle-class journalist having a bourbon at an airport is a lot different than a family living paycheck to paycheck. And when I’m getting sticker shock, it’s like an inconvenience. When they’re getting sticker shock, it’s a disaster.”
Finally, the columnist added, “And so I was insensitive, I screwed up. I should not have written that tweet. I probably should not write any tweet.” Brangham sympathized: “That’s advice we should all be taking.”
There’s also this advice: when you’re captive in an airport, stick to the fast-food joints.
