NEWARK, NEW JERSEY: David Brooks, a political and cultural commentator and New York Times columnist, recently went viral after posting an image of a $78 meal at the Newark Airport on X, formerly Twitter.
"This meal just cost me $78 at Newark Airport. This is why Americans think the economy is terrible," Brooks wrote alongside a photo of a burger, french fries, tomato, lettuce, ketchup packets and a glass of what appears to be an alcoholic beverage.
His viral post received over 3.2 million views on X, at the time of writing.
As Brooks dubbed the American economy as "terrible" for paying $78 on his airport meal, several social media users schooled him by saying that majority of American people would not spend the same amount on an airport meal, especially by including booze in their order.
David Brooks has a prominent career in journalism and reporting
Brooks was born on August 11, 1961, in Toronto, Ontario, and raised Jewish as a child. His father was an English literature professor at New York University while his mother studied nineteenth-century British history at Columbia University.
Brooks attended the Grace Church School as a child and graduated from Radnor High School in 1979. He later earned a degree in history from the University of Chicago, graduating in 1983.
Brooks became a police reporter for the City News Bureau of Chicago after graduation before being accepted as an intern at Buckley's National Review.
After the internship came to an ended, Brooks began writing movie reviews for The Washington Times.
Brooks has also served as the reporter and op-ed editor for The Wall Street Journal, a contributing editor at Newsweek, and The Atlantic Monthly as well as a senior editor at The Weekly Standard.
He was also a commentator on NPR and the PBS NewsHour. Brooks served as a visiting professor of public policy at Duke University's Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy, teaching an undergraduate seminar in the fall of 2006.
The 62-year-old also taught a course on philosophical humility at Yale University in 2013. Brooks was elected to the University of Chicago Board of Trustees in 2012.
He also serves on the board of advisors for the University of Chicago Institute of Politics. Brooks has over 250K followers on X.
David Brooks' post sparked memefest online
As Brooks' $78 meal post went viral online, several X users responded to his claim with a barrage of hilarious memes.
"My guess is that the airport restaurant bill was $78 because David Brooks consumed that burger, fries, and three more hard drinks than he’s admitting to," one wrote alongside a GIF of a drunk man stumbling down a pair of stairs.
"And candidly, he might have been plastered when he posted this," the user alleged.
"This meal just cost me $78 at Newark Airport. This is why Americans think the economy is terrible," one mocked his post alongside an image of an expensive alcohol bottle in a meal.
"From the Newark Airport Smashburger Menu... This is why Americans think journalists are terrible," another added with an image of a burger from the Newark Airport menu.
One user simply replied with the image of the viral 2017 Fyre Festival sandwich that was served in the name of gourmet meal, leaving several fans enraged.
"This bow just cost me $78,000 at my local dealership. This is why Americans think Lexus’s December to Remember is terrible," a fifth user joked.
One wrote, "They have BurgerFI that have better gourmet burger than your order. A conflicted burger is under $10 . It's not American Economy You are just lazy," alongside the image of the full Newark Airport menu.
Another shared an Oprah Winfrey meme and added, "You saw the price and still decided to order it…."
One trolled Brooks saying, "Have a heart, patriots! Fund this poor soul that is forced to have a meal for 78 bucks! Cry rivers in solidarity!"
Another mocked him saying, "I can't believe I had to spend $30 at the grocery store just to make bologna sandwiches. Thanks, Obama!"
Netizens continued to school David Brooks over his $78 airport meal post
While many responded to Brooks' post with memes, other schooled him over his order.
"I trust this is a joke -- even David Brooks knows that the overwhelming majority of people in this country are not looking to buy $78 meals at Newark Airport and would not be looking to buy them even if they cost half this price," one pointed out.
"I’m guessing it’s the $30 double barreled whiskey to blame and not the $25 burger & fries entree + tax & tip," economist Parker Ross mentioned.
"Don't pay $60 for scotch next time, genius," another mocked.
"Burger and Fries: $11 Bourbon, Top Shelf: $67 Tip: $0 Complete lack of self awareness: Priceless," a fourth added.
One asked, "How much was the drink and how many did you have? Guessing without the alcohol, you’re looking at a $30 meal there with tip."
While another added, "Unless you had at least 3 of those scotch drinks you’re not being honest. That burger was $15 to $20 tops. A simple search on google takes you to all these restaurants there and I looked at the menus."
