President Donald Trump falsely ranted to reporters on Air Force One that food stamp recipients are “largely Democrats” as he pressured his opponents on the government shutdown.
Two federal judges — Judge Indira Talwani in Massachusetts and Judge John McConnell in Rhode Island — ruled Friday that the White House must continue funding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which is commonly referred to as Food Stamps amid the government shutdown.
Before that news broke, Trump gaggled with reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Mar-a-lago and his Great Gatsby-themed Halloween party. When he was asked about the program, Trump made the false assertion:
REPORTER: On the SNAP benefits set to expire tomorrow, folks are (INAUDIBLE) about putting out canned goods and non-perishables for trick-or-treaters. Is there a possibility, like you did with the military moving around funds, is there a possiblity to do that?
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Well, it always is, but all the Democrats have to do is say, let’s go. I mean, you know, they don’t have to do anything. They don’t, all they have to do is, say, the government is open. And we only need five Democrats.
But they’re, you, know, they’ve become a radical left party. They really have, they’ve become a very radical left partner. And they’ve lost their minds. They’ve lost them minds. All they have to do, is say the government is open and that’s the end of it.
And you know largely, when you talk about SNAP, you’re talking about largely Democrats, but… I’m president. I want to help everybody. I want help Democrats and Republicans.
But when you’re talking about SNAP, if you look, it’s largely Democrats hurting their own people. Thank you very much, everybody.
Out of the 30 states Trump carried in 2024, 25 of them are more reliant on SNAP than the national average.