When Scott Martin, the chief investment officer of a wealth management company, contributed to a Fox Business segment that aired Wednesday on the topic of inflation, he probably didn’t give a second thought, at least during the heat of the moment, to his (now viral) rant about spending the princely sum of $28 for lunch at Taco Bell. He was, in fact, trying to make a larger point: See? Look how bad inflation has gotten!
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Even so — oh, boy, did the internet spend an outsized amount of time on Wednesday simultaneously dismissing his claim as surely garbage while also offering one quip after another at how much of a wrong turn in life someone would have had to take to willingly spend that much money at the fast food chain.
Indeed, his overall point about rising inflation was unsurprisingly overshadowed by his somewhat flippant quip about Taco Bell. Which makes sense, I suppose — inflation being at a multi-decade high right now, with a critical inflation-related report also coming on Thursday, isn’t exactly the stuff that entertaining internet discourse is made of.
“I had a nice lunch at Taco Bell – cost me about $28”
You can check out the full exchange Martin had on the Fox Business network below. First things first, though, let’s take a look at what he later tweeted that he ordered before we get into the utter joy that social media users took at his expense.
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
- Burrito Supreme: $6.09
- Nachos BellGrande: $7.14
- Large Mountain Dew Baja Blast Freeze: $3.79
- Nacho Cheese Doritos Locos Taco Supreme: $3.19
- Doritos Cheesy Gordita Crunch — Nacho Cheese: $5.19
That comes to a grand total of $25.40, so I’m assuming he gets to his “about $28” total once you add tax.
And then, after the tax, you still have to add one more element — an apparently endless level of derision.
“Absolute respect to this complete legend”
From the CBS News White House digital reporter who tweeted that she had no desire to “experience the consequences of eating $28 worth of Taco Bell” to the Motherboard writer and editor joking about the “absolute respect” Martin has earned and even the official New York Times account getting in on the act (using it as an opportunity to share a taco recipe), it seems pretty much everyone had an opinion about this least-consequential element of Martin’s interview on Wednesday (inflation is really bad right now, by the way).
Some of the best and funniest reactions, starting with Taco Bell’s reliably saucy Twitter account chiming in about all this:
14 x $2 Burritos = $28. What's your $28 order? https://t.co/q3zJWDSKHP
— Taco Bell (@tacobell) October 13, 2022
$28 of Taco Bell?!?!? That man didn’t do the interview from the toilet so he’s lying
— FutureLegend (@MFFL22) October 12, 2022
$28 of Taco Bell? pic.twitter.com/ScEIZGnjN1
— mobywv (@mobywv) October 12, 2022
Me watching that dude eat $28 of taco bell: pic.twitter.com/KHmtmCi3qy
— Pizza Dad (@Pizza__Dad) October 12, 2022
If you’re eating $28 of Taco Bell, you’re stoned out of your mind and driving to Wendy’s for $25 worth of Frosty’s afterward. https://t.co/XRPVg6asnl
— Semi-Bionic 🤖 Woman (@levy_charlene) October 12, 2022
if you’re spending $28 at taco bell you need to immediately see a doctor https://t.co/joZwdSL7Nt
— Catherine Tinker (@catherinetinker) October 12, 2022
