A boat owner raised his voice at CNN journalist Elle Reeve for noting that he could afford the expensive hobby despite economic complaints.
The confrontation came while Reeve was covering a so-called MAGA boat parade in Panama City, Florida. The interview was replayed over the weekend.
“What’s your most important issue?” Reeve asked the boat owner.
“The economy, getting the interest rates down, getting it to where we can afford to live in America,” the man replied. “Right now, it’s too expensive.”
“Okay, now, let me maybe ask a slightly impolite question, but, you know, if you can afford a boat, you’re not hurting so bad, right, because a boat costs a lot of money, and it’s a lot of upkeep,” Reeve noted.
“Listen, nobody gave me s—!” the man shouted back. “I’m a retired military, retired power plant, and I am successful and retired, with boats, jet skis, because I did it right.”
“And everybody has that chance,” he added. “Whether they choose or not, that’s up to them.”
“I would never try to take anything away from you in that way,” Reeve explained, “but what I’m asking is, groceries are probably a smaller part of your budget than, say, you know, someone who’s, like, a little worse off.”
“I think it’s interesting that people who are a little bit more comfortable are still so concerned about the economy.”
The boat owner insisted that his money should go further.
“I want interest rates to go back down,” he said. “I want all that, but that covers everybody in the economy. Not just me, not just the poor, not just the rich. It covers everybody.”
The man admitted that his children were “doing better” than him.
Another boater predicted a civil war after the election.
“I think we’ll be in the middle of a civil war either way, doesn’t matter who wins,” he said.
