A man disrupted a CUNY (The City University of New York) panel featuring economist Paul Krugman with a fiery rant criticizing the economic crisis affecting Americans and accusing the federal government of abandoning Hurricane Helene victims, while sending billions to support wars in Ukraine and Israel.
In a passionate tirade befitting of Alex Jones, Bronx congressional candidate Jose Vega (LaRouche Party) blasted Krugman and fellow panelists on Tuesday for focusing on how well the economy is, while hurricane victims are suffering and New York residents are struggling to pay bills.
“Uh-oh, Nobel Prize-winning economist here to tell us how great the economy is,” Vega shouted at the panel.
Citizen just LIT UP columnist Paul Krugman at CUNY over Helene victims, billions to Ukraine, and the Economy
— Jack Poso 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) October 3, 2024
“We’re getting evicted and you’re making millions!” pic.twitter.com/t0bj2YhIQM
“I certainly wonder how the residents of Asheville, North Carolina, must be feeling right now with no access to power or water or communication with the outside world. I wonder how enthusiastic they are about the economy right now,” he stated.
“Hey, maybe North Carolina should rename itself Israel so it’ll get $20 billion in aid. Or maybe Ukraine so it can get $300 billion in aid,” Vega yelled, adding, “Maybe the South Bronx should do the same thing.”
The man running for New York’s 15th congressional district went on to claim the economist and journalists having the panel discussion likely aren’t worried about the economy.
“All of you must be having a great time with the economy when most people can’t even pay for basic necessities,” he said, adding, “and I’m supposed to give a shit about the stock market.”
“You want to know why the presidential election is tied right now?” he continued. “Because our money is being sent to Israel and Ukraine so that they can continue to bomb innocent women and children. You think that’s a great economy?”
Taking aim at Krugman, Vega told him, “Your degree is worthless. You might as well use it as paperweight because it means nothing. I hope you enjoy the dead children that the economy is powering.”
The man was eventually kicked out of the space by security, as he yelled, “You all fucking suck!
People need to wake up right now and we need to have peace.”
Following the confrontation, Krugman complained on X, “Last night, at a CUNY event about perceptions of the economy, we had a guy yelling about Biden refusing to help Helene victims, who had to be escorted out. So Trump’s lies have gone viral.”
X’s Community Notes feature added context to Krugman’s post pointing out Vega “never mentioned Trump,” and only briefly mentioned Helene while also discussing issues in his region.
Responding to Krugman, Vega posted, “Yeah, that was me you twat! Enjoy the video in full you qwackademic!”