Posting on his Truth Social social media platform, President Donald Trump sounded off on the Democrats for putting hungry Americans at risk with their shutdown, arguing that it is legally unclear if he can pay for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) with the money that is currently available, or if he is forbidden from doing so.
As background, the ongoing shutdown, which has now lasted for more than a month, means that the various federal food assistance programs, such as SNAP, ran out of funding on November 1. That means that tens of millions of Americans, at most close to 42 million, are now at risk of going hungry because of the Schumer shutdown.
That is particularly infuriating to many, as Republicans have made the case that the shutdown has come thanks to Democrats demanding deranged spending, such as hundreds of billions of dollars to pay for healthcare for illegal aliens, which is obviously unacceptable to Republicans, and thus the reason why the shutdown occurred.
So, President Trump has vowed that he will use what money is available to keep SNAP coming, if possible, though noting that the courts are in disagreement over whether that is possible. He began, in his post on the matter, “Our Government lawyers do not think we have the legal authority to pay SNAP with certain monies we have available, and now two Courts have issued conflicting opinions on what we can and cannot do.”
Continuing, he noted that struggling Americans should not be going hungry or struggling to feed their children because Democrats refuse to leave behind their demands of healthcare for illegal aliens. He said, “I do NOT want Americans to go hungry just because the Radical Democrats refuse to do the right thing and REOPEN THE GOVERNMENT.”
Commenting yet further on the legal aspects of the situation, saying, “Therefore, I have instructed our lawyers to ask the Court to clarify how we can legally fund SNAP as soon as possible. It is already delayed enough due to the Democrats keeping the Government closed through the monthly payment date and, even if we get immediate guidance, it will unfortunately be delayed while States get the money out.”
Adding to that, he demanded that Democrats reopen the government so that, if the courts do not allow him to fund SNAP despite the shutdown, Americans won’t go hungry. He said, “If we are given the appropriate legal direction by the Court, it will BE MY HONOR to provide the funding, just like I did with Military and Law Enforcement Pay. The Democrats should quit this charade where they hurt people for their own political reasons, and immediately REOPEN THE GOVERNMENT.”
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Concluding, he cleverly foisted the blame and pressure on Democrats, particularly Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, even including the senator’s office phone number in the post that blamed him for the lack of SNAP funding, saying, “If you use SNAP benefits, call the Senate Democrats, and tell them to reopen the Government, NOW! Here is Cryin’ Chuck Schumer’s Office Number: (202) 224-6542″
Watch Karoline Leavitt comment on the SNAP matter here: