Republican Party trashed for mocking Gen Z congressman because he doesn't have '6 residences'
Sarah K. Burris
January 01, 2023

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The Republican Party pushed out a video with new Generation Z Congressman, Maxwell Frost, who told ABC News that one of his struggles is he can't get an apartment in Washington, D.C. because he doesn't have good credit. Frost explained that he will likely have to couch surf for a while.

The GOP knocked Frost for getting the salary of $174,000 annually for his new job, but that hasn't started and won't until Feb. 2023. At the same time, that cash doesn't all roll in as a lump sum on the first day a member is inaugurated. It's part of his or her salary distributed over the course of the year. So, when Frost says he can't get an apartment before he's been paid for a job he hasn't started is a problem that many Americans understand.

It was something that millennial Nathan Rubin pointed out, "You know he’s paid bi-weekly over 26 pay periods right? He’s not just given $174,000 upfront before he starts working. It’s just like a normal job. You’ve had normal jobs before, right?"

The suggestion from the GOP prompted Erick Fernandez to proclaim: "I am going to ask my job to pay me my entire salary at the beginning of the year and see what they say because apparently, you think this is how it works."

At the same time, credit checks have become the norm for applying for apartments. Even if a young person has never had a credit card and has money, that's not considered good enough credit to get an apartment without a co-signer. A young person who has very little credit who has missed one payment over time is another way that youth can have bad credit.

Frost hit back, mocking the party for not knowing what's required for someone just to rent an apartment.

"Lol. So out of touch that they don’t understand how renting an apartment works," he explained. "Let me break this down: I don’t get my first paycheck till February and I don’t have a lot of money. When you move into an apartment, you pay first, deposit, sometimes 

He later added: "I find it interesting that the 'pull yourself up by your bootstraps' people take issue with me staying with friends until I save up enough to get an apartment. Maybe I don’t fit the demographic they like to applaud."

The disconnected comments prompted those who saw it to point out how far removed the GOP is from the plight of everyday Americans dealing with housing in a world where the rent is always too high. Unlike Donald Trump or Mitt Romney, Frost doesn't have a number of homes and country clubs where he can lay his head at night.

"Gen Z official indicates he might save money for a bit through generosity of friends. Party of rich old folks mocks him for not having six residences," said legal analyst Bradley Moss on Twitter.

Nothing says the party of geriatric old men and their over-botoxed trophy wives doesn’t grasp how Millennials and Gen Z might not be able to easily afford two residences on that salary more than this tweet. Amazing how Charlie Kirk and his conferences didn’t save them in 2022," Moss ranted.

@MidwestBest agreed, noting, "The party that gives tax breaks to billionaires and corporations is trying to talk about the working class? Must be an election year."

Brian Michael Scully was more direct: "It’s remarkable how confidently you punch yourself in your own genitals over and over and think it makes you look clever."

Republicans attacked Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) in 2018, when she came into office for having the same problem. She, too, began looking for housing after being elected, but without having her first paycheck, she was looking for a place that was in Washington, while also paying rent in New York City on a waitress salary. She had been living off of her savings at the time, quitting her job to focus on the campaign.

AOC's transition period was "very unusual, because I can’t really take a salary,” she told The New York Times. “I have three months without a salary before I’m a member of Congress. So, how do I get an apartment? Those little things are very real.”

One of the ongoing complaints from voters is that officials don't reflect the regular lives most have. This is one of many reasons why.

See the full interview with Frost  at the link here: