Why "America First" Was Trump's Biggest Lie
Donald Trump is starving America
This weekend, SNAP ran out of funds and 42 million Americans (including 16 million children) will lose access to food stamps — all because Donald Trump thinks it’s okay to use food as leverage against the American people.
SNAP benefits have never been disrupted in the past during shutdowns because the program was built with a contingency fund to make sure people get fed. Despite this, Trump has decided to manufacture a food crisis, leaving families across the country concerned about how they will feed themselves and their children by refusing to allow SNAP to access its emergency funds that are set aside for exactly this purpose.
Late Friday night, a federal judge ordered the Trump admin to fund SNAP — the second ruling to say so — but Trump posted on social media afterward, saying he would only appropriate the emergency funds to the program when he gets “appropriate legal direction.” As a result, food stamps for November will be delayed — with no real timeline for when families will receive them, if at all.
To be very clear, this is a made-up attempt to starve millions of Americans and make them collateral damage while Trump tries to get his way during this government shutdown. While Dems are (finally) taking a stand on behalf of their constituents and fighting against skyrocketing healthcare costs, Trump is snatching food assistance from the most vulnerable members of our community. He could order SNAP to be fully funded today — in fact, he could’ve done it last week. But he didn’t and he will probably fight tooth and nail to continue to not, because his cruelty and disregard for the people he’s supposed to serve will always outweigh any sense of duty he may have.
This isn’t the first time the Trump admin has come for food assistance. The ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ will kick around 4 million people off SNAP, even without the current shutdown instability. To protect their constituents, state governors and other leaders have stepped in to provide food assistance, create and stock food pantries, and take care of their communities.
It’s especially hypocritical considering that earlier this year, Republicans fell over backwards trying to justify Trump’s removal of aid from Ukraine as ‘America First’ — that feeding Americans is more important than helping others. Despite this, the Senate GOP shot down another measure that Dems introduced that would have protected food assistance throughout this shutdown. They seem to have forgotten how much they ‘cared’ about helping American families just as quickly as Trump forgot about his ‘America First’ rhetoric.
If you’re able, you can help too by donating to a food bank, contacting your local food pantry and asking what specific resources they need, or connecting with mutual aid groups. Click here to find free or reduced-cost necessities in your area that you can help out with, like food, housing, financial assistance, health care, and more.
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Thankfully the courts have temporarily forced Trump to spend the contingency funds on SNAP.
what we need to do is what the Whos in Whoville did, just carry on. Stores should allow those who generally have SNAP, continue to shop. Keep tabs like in the 1800s! Then bill trump. Send a message that the American people can overcome anything he tosses at us! We don't need him, we don't want him, we are better without him! Farmers need to do the same with the produce they can't sell overseas, give it to the needed, and send trump and his regime an invoice!