BREAKING: THEY DO NOT CARE ABOUT YOU! Republican Rep. Troy Nehls responds to reporter asking about struggling Americans by bragging about eating steak and lobster tails and sneering that poor Americans just don't work hard enough!

Republicans have spent months insisting to their constituents that they understand the economic pressures facing ordinary Americans. Congressman Troy Nehls of Texas just gave them a little public relations problem.

Asked by a reporter on the steps of the Capitol how House Republicans plan to convince voters they are fighting for affordability while they are back in their districts over the Fourth of July, the cigar-chomping Nehls opted to talk about his dinner menu.

"I'm going to get me a couple big lobster tails. I'm going to get me some nice rib eyes," Nehls said, describing plans to celebrate the holiday with family and neighbors while honoring "the greatest president in my lifetime, Donald J. Trump."

That's one way to answer a question about affordability, isn’t it?

Nehls went on to acknowledge that fuel prices have risen because of the U.S. attack on Iran but waved off concerns about fuel prices as temporary.

Then the interviewer pointed out an inconvenient fact.

"Do you think the 60 percent of Americans who are living paycheck to paycheck can afford lobster tails and rib eyes and all of that?" he asked.

Nehls' response was breathtaking.

"Maybe not. Maybe that 60 percent of Americans don't work as hard as I do either. I mean, I don't know."

So, according to the Texas congressman, Americans struggling to afford groceries, gas, rent and health care may simply need to work harder. If he’d kept on talking, maybe he would have gotten to “bootstraps.”

He didn't consider things like stagnant wages, soaring housing costs or rising insurance premiums, all of which have squeezed household budgets across the country. Instead, he suggested the problem may lie with the people struggling to pay the bills themselves.

This is the kind of response that perfectly captures why so many voters believe Washington politicians are out of touch with everyday life.

Most Americans hearing the word "affordability" don't picture lobster tails and rib eyes. They picture electric bills, rent payments, prescription drug costs, and the cost of filling up their vehicles.

But Nehls was kind enough to say the quiet part out loud for us.

How many more Republican politicians hear that millions of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck and don't see an economic problem, they see a work ethic problem.

And they wonder why voters are frustrated, and the approval rate of Congress hovers between 10 and 30 percent.

Bon appétit, Congressman. Your cigar stinks, by the way.

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