As is often the case on X, old arguments get rehashed under new circumstances. This time, the topic is $20 burritos.
As you can imagine, this has nothing actually to do with burritos, but whether or not young people today have legitimate grievances with the system.
Neocons and neocon-adjacent figures are resorting to an old trick previously used against left-leaning college students and recent graduates (the hypothetical blue-haired Starbucks barista with a masters in queer theory who supported Bernie Sanders) by telling them to suck it up.
This time, their vitriol is aimed at young right-wingers.
Affordability has been front and center in political discussion in 2026, particularly with the rise in gas prices. Support for socialism and sometimes even communism has risen in recent years. Many point to this being a phenomena of entitled young whites, while others point to this being a function of the rapid demographic change that has occurred over the years and ramped up during the Biden administration. However, for much of the conservative chattering class, it is only young whites that are deserving of their scorn.
Now-former Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt started off the exchange of pleasantries several weeks ago with her now infamous remarks on Fox News. She called out her fellow GenZers by telling the cable news audience that these Zoomers grew up with “a silver spoon in their mouths” and that they needed to “pull themselves up by their bootstraps.”
Many neoconservatives and establishment GOP figures echoed Leavitt’s sentiments. After all, a generation that grew up with smartphones and DoorDash had it easier than the baby boomers watching Fox News did. Never mind the other pitfalls that young Americans deal with today when it comes to the dating marketplace, job market, housing market, demographics, etc.
The current $20 burrito discussion is simply a continuation of the battle that ensued after the Press Secretary made her appearance on Fox.
The message from the conservative establishment remains the same: eat ramen and have tons of roommates to split the rent.
It goes without saying that this messaging received swift and harsh backlash, especially online.
Some on the right used this to further the idea that what Leavitt said is indicative of the entire Trump administration and all of MAGA. Certain subgroups of the right use the current effort in Iran as “proof” of this. The Trump administration cares more about defense contractors and Israel than it does about staying in the good graces of white zoomers.
Certainly Leavitt’s message as well as the sentiments echoed by former GOP representative Dan Crenshaw, Joel Berry of the Babylon Bee, Ben Shapiro, and others in this sphere are tone deaf to a large degree. However, the flip side of this debate has its issues as well.
Many young, ostensibly right-wing men have soured on electoral politics altogether. Others say they’ll vote Democrat in the 2026 midterms and the 2028 presidential election out of spite and to teach the GOP a lesson. Many no longer blame the left for issues that were clearly caused by them, including DEI and replacement-level migration. There’s a sentiment that “right and left are irrelevant” and that the real enemy is the “Epstein Class,” the uniparty, or the Jews. Not coincidentally, much of this rhetoric is coming from people who entertain wild conspiracy theories about the Charlie Kirk assassination that all seem to point to Israel.
The neocon and neocon-adjacent wing of the right is correct to stress personal responsibility when it comes to people complaining about a perceived lack of fairness within society. There have been many times when pulling one’s self up by their bootstraps is the best solution. On a person-to-person level, it is great advice to advise someone to take responsibility in life. However, there is something revealing about it. Those telling people to take it in the chin and not complain excuse bad policies that they have supported, currently support, and will support and attempt to implement after Trump leaves office. It is seemingly self-evident that the terminally blackpilled opting to vote for the opposition and/or sit out isn’t a long term strategy and isn’t likely to gain traction and take over the right.
The MAGA wing must continue to make its case that they have been fighting hard on immigration and DEI. It is crucial that the GOP has a solid showing during the midterms and beyond, because for better or worse, that is the only way of enacting America First policies and wielding political power.
