A conservative economic expert warned Monday that a Republican lawmaker worth millions had made a mistake after a CBS interview.
Jessica Riedl, a fellow at the Brookings Institution and budget policy expert who has worked on four different presidential campaigns, described why Sen. John Kennedy's (R-LA) message on "Face the Nation" could backfire for the Republican Party with midterms looming.
"Americans aren't even willing to pay for causes they believe in and that directly benefit them (trust me, I'm a federal budget expert)," Riedl wrote on X. "Telling them to pay significantly for causes that most don't even care about (and right before an election!) is political malpractice."
During the interview, Kennedy — who is worth an estimated $21 million — had claimed that Americans need to hang on, despite rising cost of living and the rapid increase of energy costs in the fallout over the Iran war.
"If we can stand the pain of the rising cost of energy, we need to stay the course — at least for a few more months," Kennedy said.
Political commentators and critics pointed out Kennedy's comments.
"It would probably be easier for people to accept the pain if wages rose above the cost of inflation and all of these higher prices. but in one of the richest countries in the world, apparently that's not a thing anyone cares about doing for Americans," Beth Bourdon, criminal defense attorney and writer, posted on X.
"'Kill a few chickens to scare the monkeys.' We need some fresh faces in the Senate," progressive commentator and veteran Mason wrote on X.
"No!! Why are we paying the electricity bills of data centers? Why are we paying for the water? Why are we paying for a stupid a-- war that wasn’t planned for properly? Why are we even at war? We can’t pay for everything!! The well is running dry!!!!!!!" X user LizzyR, who self-describes as "fact-checking, for voters," wrote.
"Translation: Republicans will do nothing to reign [SIC] in Trump. Gas prices will continue to rise. More Americans will die and Trump with [SIC] continue to waste billion [SIC] of dollars a week in a failed war with Iran," political and media consultant Marty Taylor, executive director of New Blue USA PAC, wrote on X.
Americans aren't even willing to pay for causes they believe in and that directly benefit them (trust me, I'm a federal budget expert).
Telling them to pay significantly for causes that most don't even care about (and right before an election!) is political malpractice. https://t.co/G4z00EC1nv
— Jessica Riedl 🧀 🇺🇦 (@JessicaBRiedl) July 27, 2026