THE VIRAL $16 McDONALD'S MEAL THAT RUINED BIDENOMICS
An eye-popping receipt for a $16 McDonald’s meal posted on TikTok last year has resurfaced and gone viral, serving a taste of how many Americans are battling with soaring food prices.
What initially seemed like a simple social media post has evolved into a symbol of economic anxiety, with some linking the pricey burger to concerns over Biden’s economic management.
Inflation remains a hot topic, particularly among millennials and Gen Zers, leading to a surge in similar videos on TikTok. Many influencers are using the platform to express their frustration about the economy, with hashtags like “SilentDepression” gaining popularity.
These viral videos are creating a challenge for the Biden administration, which is struggling with public discontent despite recent encouraging signs such as lower inflation and stronger-than-expected economic growth.
Meanwhile, the media debate surrounding these videos raises questions about their potential impact on voter sentiment and the upcoming election.
The extent to which these videos impact voter behavior, however, remains uncertain. Karen Hult, a political science professor at Virginia Tech, suggests that their influence may be overstated in recent media articles.
As we approach the next presidential election, it is crucial to note that Gen Z, along with millennials, will wield significant political influence, potentially shaping the outcome.
Some studies indicate that people tend to form their perceptions of a president’s economic performance approximately six months before an election. Despite potential economic improvements in the months leading up to the election, altering public perceptions, mainly among young voters, can prove challenging for Biden.
Beyond economic issues, concerns over national security arise with the role of TikTok in spreading information and influencing users. The app’s extensive access to user data, coupled with sophisticated algorithms, has raised concerns about the potential for manipulation.
Despite that, Biden’s reelection campaign is working with TikTok content creators to bolster a positive narrative about the economy.
In addition, political candidates from both parties utilize TikTok as a vital tool for reaching young voters. Consequently, it becomes increasingly challenging to consider banning the app due to its entrenched role in American politics.
—Emel Akan
MANCHIN'S
In his quest to “mobilize the middle,” Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) in early November announced he would not seek a third Senate term and, instead, speak with folks far-and-wide to determine if there’s a median lane straddling the nation’s increasingly sharp partisan divide.
He’s shown up in several early primary states, including New Hampshire and South Carolina, with No Labels, which aims to field an independent 2024 presidential ticket. Maybe he’s running for president, maybe he isn’t. We’ll know one way or another in a few months.
In his search for a middle road, one thing is clear: Manchin won’t find it in West Virginia. “There’s no middle on these country roads,” a fifth-generation coal miner told The Epoch Times during a late-November visit to Farmington, his half-square-mile hometown, population 400, in Marion County.
Since launching his five-decade political career as a state legislator in the 1980s, ascending to governor and, in 2010, succeeding Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.V.)—whose death ended his 51-year tenure as the longest-serving Senator in the nation’s history—Manchin has been a moderate Democrat, a self-professed centrist, a back-slapping deal-maker working both sides of the aisle to move or kill bills.
In doing so, he’s garnered criticism and, in some cases, enmity, from both Republicans and Democrats. Officials, candidates, supporters, and voters in both parties told The Epoch Times that Manchin’s “middle road” was never on any West Virginia map and he knows he was not going to be reelected in 2024.
The truth, however, is Manchin has always been in the middle. He’s always been a pragmatic moderate. He’s stood his ground, but the ground shifted—It’s either this way or that way now. There’s no middle.
It’s a gray world, but all Americans now see is black-and-white political theater.
When Manchin entered politics, West Virginia had been dominated by Democrats since the Depression. Before 2014, it had a Democrat governor, Democrats controlled both state legislature chambers, two Democrat U.S. Senators, and two of three Congressional seats were held by Democrats.
The GOP now has an iron trifecta in Charleston with an 89-11 House of Delegates majority and a 31-3 Senate lock. West Virginia’s two Congressional reps are Republicans, its other U.S. Senator a Republican, and it voted 70 percent for former President Donald Trump in 2020.
Manchin has openly mulled becoming a Republican. His Democrat Party is no longer the Democrat Party of West Virginia. As the state became redder, what remains of the party has become more liberal.
“The state party structure was essentially comatose and inactive for well over a decade, which is one of many reasons why West Virginia went red in 2014 for the first time in 82 years,” Democratic organizer Shane Assadzandi said during a Morgantown rally for 32-year-old Marine Corps veteran Zach Shrewsbury, a first-time candidate who openly identifies as a socialist and who is, right now, the party’s candidate to succeed Manchin.
The party’s “previous leadership structure,” spearheaded by Manchin, “was very hostile toward progressives,” he said, recounting how over the last year, activists recruited and elected “mostly progressives” to take “a strong majority” on the state Democratic Party Executive Committee.
There’s a new enthusiasm in the party, Assadzandi said, promising “the kind of organizing that will turn West Virginia true blue—and not the Joe Manchin type of blue.”
If there’s a middle road in West Virginia, it’s a one-way highway without exits.
—John Haughey
CONGRESS'S FINAL WEEK THIS YEAR
Lawmakers will return to Capitol Hill today for their last session of the year with a long to-do list.
Only a few of these priorities—including the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization—are must-pass priorities.
The top priority is this year’s NDAA, a $900 billion defense and national security policy bill.
Initially, Republicans pushed to have several culture war provisions included in the package. However, with time running out to negotiate on these issues with the Democrat-controlled Senate, many of these provisions have been removed entirely, prompting pushback among House Republicans.
Also included in the NDAA will be an extension of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), a controversial spying authority set to expire at the end of this year.
Section 702 allows U.S. intelligence officials to spy on American citizens, sometimes without a warrant, and has been found to have been abused several times since its last reauthorization in 2018.
House Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) decision to include the FISA extension in the NDAA has caused controversy among critics of the program in the House like Reps. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) and Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who want more comprehensive reforms—including an across-the-board requirement for warrants to spy on Americans.
Still, as of now, Congress seems on track to push a clean reauthorization of Section 702 to sometime around April 2024.
Also on Congress’s to-do list is a reauthorization of the FAA, the agency responsible for managing and regulating U.S. air traffic.
Congress could choose to do a full reauthorization or to simply pass an extension into next year.
House Republicans will also continue their investigation into the first family this week, with Johnson hoping to formally authorize the House’s impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.
Since the start of the 118th Congress, Republicans have been investigating the foreign business dealings of first son Hunter Biden and the first family.
Members of the family and their business associates have been found to have received over $20 million from foreign sources in Ukraine, Romania, and China. Circumstantial evidence linking President Biden to these dealings has prompted concerns that he may have been involved in an influence-peddling scheme.
This week, after a long push from Republicans, Hunter Biden is set to testify to the House Oversight Committee in a closed-door hearing.
However, whether or not that will happen remains up in the air.
Hunter Biden has instead demanded an open hearing, and has indicated that he may not comply with the subpoena for closed-door testimony.
Republicans have said Biden wants open testimony to make a “spectacle,” and have warned Biden’s lawyers that they’ll begin contempt of Congress proceedings if he fails to appear—which could mean even more court proceedings for the embattled first son, who is already facing two indictments for tax and firearm crimes.
A few other legislative priorities are likely to be pushed off until Congress returns in 2024.
It appears unlikely emergency aid for Ukraine and Israel will be passed before the end of the year. Senate Republicans and Democrats, who are negotiating border security policy changes to be included in the bill, do not appear to be close to a deal.
Republicans want tougher border measures to ease the crisis, which so far have been rejected by Democrats.
This comes as Biden is set to host Ukrainian Prime Minister Vlodomir Zelenskyy at the White House on Tuesday to “discuss Ukraine’s urgent needs and the vital importance of the United States’ continued support at this critical moment,” according to the White House.
Earlier this year, Johnson successfully passed a two-part stopgap spending bill that will push off fights over government funding until Jan. 19 and Feb. 2.
This means that, for the first time in a long time, congressmen won’t be running out the clock before Christmas trying to avoid a government shutdown.
But funding the government is likely to be lawmakers’ first priority when they return to Capitol Hill in January, when they’ll have only days to avert a shutdown.
Taken together, these priorities are likely to mean a hectic week for lawmakers, who have already spent much more time in Washington than normal this year.
—Joseph Lord
WHAT’S HAPPENING
- Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani will appear at the U.S. District Court in Washington for the start of a trial to determine the damages in a defamation case. A judge earlier found him liable for defaming two Georgia election workers over accusing them of manipulating ballots in the 2020 election.
- Biden travels to Pennsylvania to give remarks at an event announcing the city receiving a $22 million grant for the fire department.
- House Rules Committee at 4 p.m. with debate a FISA reform bill advanced by House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner (R-Ohio).
BOOKMARKS
As he faces legal action in Washington for allegedly trying to overturn the 2020 election, Trump has several viable options for having the case tossed. Legal experts spoke with The Epoch Times’ Peter Svab about how that could happen.
The president of the University of Pennsylvania has stepped down as calls escalated for her removal after congressional testimony last week during which she demurred on directly answering the question of whether students who called for the genocide of Jews should be punished, The Epoch Times’ Zachary Stieber reports.
More and more Americans are becoming the victims of ever more sophisticated phone scams. The Epoch Times’ Katie Spence delved into the issue, exploring the intricacies of these newly emerging scams.
After blocking military promotions for the better part of nine months, Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) has surrendered. Tuberville made the holds in protest of the Pentagon’s policy providing financial support for female service members traveling out of state to get an abortion, which Tuberville said violated the law. Politico reported on the “fiery” closed-door Senate GOP meeting which led Tuberville to relent in his pressure campaign.
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) has lost her bid to become mayor of Houston. She lost the race to fellow Democrat and state Sen. John Whitmire, who took a much tougher tone on crime. Politico explored the race, suggesting that it indicates fractures among Democrats about how to deal with rising violent crime.
