Burrito debate rips open GOP civil war on affordability: ‘We will lose, and deserve it’

A debate over whether a burrito should cost $20 has ignited a Republican civil war over affordability and the party’s appeal to younger voters ahead of the midterm elections.

The clash began Wednesday when Turning Point USA spokesman Andrew Kolvet shared a college student’s complaint that basic purchases have become prohibitively expensive.

"​​One of our TPUSA college students gave me his take on affordability: ‘A burrito shouldn’t cost $20,’" he posted to X on Wednesday. "Yeah, a lot of this is a hangover from Covid and Biden-era inflation, but the lived experience is the same: It just feels like basic things cost too much."

Fiscal conservatives took the position that food is generally affordable if one cooks for themselves and that purchasing a $20 burrito should be considered an occasional luxury. Those aligned with the populist wing of the GOP, meanwhile, argued that traditional conservatives are out of touch with the youth and that the Republican Party faces electoral peril unless it can meaningfully address affordability concerns.

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"Just hearing about this dumb $20 burrito debate so just thought I’d make the losers on social media angry before going to bed," Rep. Dan Crenshaw wrote on Wednesday night. "Stop whining, get a job, eat Ramen like the rest of us did in college, on a budget with 4 roommates. The market doesn’t care what you think something ‘should’ cost."

RealClearInvestigations senior writer Mark Hemingway, however, said that such an approach to affordability concerns could prove toxic to the GOP.

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"Andrew [Kolvet] is absolutely right about this, and pundits deflecting because you can cook at home cheaper are not helping," he said. "Eating a burrito once in a while should not be an aspirational lifestyle, for crying out loud."

"The comments saying stick to the dining hall or buy microwaveable burritos are missing the ENTIRE point," Defense of Freedom Institute spokeswoman Angela Morabito said. "If the Right's ‘solution’ to the affordability crisis is telling people to eat worse food, we will lose, and we will deserve it."

Chipotle burritos generally run between about $9 and $12 depending on location, with cheaper restaurants, such as Taco Bell, offering more affordable options. Some fiscal conservatives also pointed out that young people can save money by preparing meals at home.

"A burrito only costs $20 when you buy it on Door Dash because you’re too lazy to walk over to Chipotle or Taco Bell (where you can get one for $3.99)," Fox News contributor Marc Thiessen wrote in response to a populist arguing that the GOP could surrender ground to socialists by not addressing affordability. "When I graduated I lived on ramen noodles, had two roommates, and worked two jobs. I didn’t whine about affordability, I worked hard so I could one day afford a better life."

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Vice President JD Vance then added to the debate, responding to Thiessen.

"I'm surprised to hear Mark say this. If you've ever met him in person, it's quite obvious the man has never missed a burrito," the vice president wrote.

Bradley Devlin, politics editor at the Daily Signal, claimed that some involved in the burrito discourse were ignorant of financial sacrifices he says are quite common among young people.

"The Burrito Discourse has exposed that so people with thoughts on the youths have not spoken to one in years," he wrote. "They do not expect to live off delivered food from bespoke restaurants and live on their own. I don’t know a single 20 something who lives on their own right now. Having a college degree and two jobs is around the highest it’s ever been. ‘The college premium’ has dried up."

Others responded to the debate in jest.

"I don't care for burritos," Daily Wire host Michael Knowles posted.