Trump flips and decides to starve people after all

President Donald Trump on Tuesday confirmed that he plans to weaponize hunger in America, writing in a post on Truth Social that he will not fund food stamp benefits during the government shutdown—even though two federal judges ordered him to do just that.

“SNAP BENEFITS, which increased by Billions and Billions of Dollars (MANY FOLD!) during Crooked Joe Biden’s disastrous term in office (Due to the fact that they were haphazardly ‘handed’ to anyone for the asking, as opposed to just those in need, which is the purpose of SNAP!), will be given only when the Radical Left Democrats open up government, which they can easily do, and not before! Thank you for your attention to this matter,” Trump wrote.

No sugar-coating it: Daily Kos needs your help. Can you chip in $5 today?

Trump’s comment is an about-face from what his own administration said in a legal filing on Monday, in which they committed to partially funding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program—commonly known as food stamps—by using the contingency funding Congress had put in place.

The fact that Trump said he would now officially ignore the rulings of two federal judges in order to weaponize hunger is the latest politically moronic move he has made in recent days. 

On Friday, Trump attended a “Great Gatsby”-themed Halloween party at his gaudy Mar-a-Lago resort in ritzy Palm Beach, Florida, where he was seen smiling and yukking it up with his rich benefactors hours before food stamp benefits were set to expire.

Earlier that same day, Trump had sent out a number of Truth Social posts in which he marveled at the bathroom renovation he oversaw at the White House, where he had the walls and floors covered in expensive marble and gilded hardware.

The imagery of Trump's hedonism while average Americans suffer is a political gift to Democrats, who can repurpose the images of Trump smiling amid wealthy party guests for ads to show just how much he doesn't care about average Americans.

In fact, House Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday was asked what he thought of the juxtaposition of Trump living a life of luxury while lower-income Americans worried about putting food on the table.

But Johnson could not bring himself to criticize Trump’s actions.

"The president had an annual Halloween-themed party every year at Mar-a-Lago. That's what he went back to, his obligatory tradition," Johnson said Tuesday at a news conference when a reporter asked him to comment on the optics of Trump’s glitzy party. "I just discount what you're trying to do there," Johnson added.

Of course, attending a party is not "obligatory" by any means. Trump could have skipped it, released food stamp funding as he was ordered to, and worked the phones to get a deal to fund the government.

Yet he didn’t, because Trump doesn’t care about anyone but himself.

No billionaire backers, no paywalls. Daily Kos news exists because of YOU, our donor community. Now, we need your help. Please donate today.

It is funny, however, that Johnson chose this question to reply to. He typically chooses to claim to have not seen or heard about news events that make Trump look bad.

Of course, Johnson was A-okay with weaponizing hunger to try to force Democrats to swallow Republicans’ government funding deal. On Thursday, he admitted that Republicans were withholding food stamp funding as leverage to end the shutdown.

“[I]f you deviate from the goal of reopening the entire government, [Senate Minority Leader] Chuck Schumer and the radicals over there will continue to play games with people’s paychecks, their livelihoods. And if you do just part of this, it will reduce the pressure for them to do all of it," Johnson told CNN about why he wasn’t working to ensure food stamp benefits continued during the shutdown.

Democrats, for their part, vowed to fight Trump’s decision to withhold food stamps.

“The President who threw a Gatsby-themed party the night before he cut off SNAP benefits is now vowing to break a court order so that he can force millions of children, seniors, and veterans to go hungry,” Sen. Patty Murray, Democrat of Washington, wrote in a post on X. “It's sickening. I won't stand for it. Time to speak up and push back.”

Click here to check out this story on DailyKos.com.

We're not asking for much

The average donation to Daily Kos has been just $9.44. These donations may seem small, but they're a big deal to us. In fact, they are our largest source of income. We literally couldn't do the work we do without them. Can you join thousands of other Daily Kos readers and help us with a donation of $9.44 right now?