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In US president Donald Trump’s latest failure to read the room, the Republican decided to host a Great Gatsby themed Halloween party at Mar-a-Lago on Friday, complete with the tagline “a little party never killed nobody”, the night before food stamp payments were set to be frozen by his administration.
Also known as SNAP benefits (short for the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program), the Trump administration announced last week it intended to freeze the payments amid the ongoing US government shutdown.
However, Friday also saw two federal judges rule that Trump’s administration must continue to fund SNAP.
The president responded to the rulings in a post on Truth Social the same day, writing: “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.
“I do NOT want Americans to go hungry just because the Radical Democrats refuse to do the right thing and REOPEN THE GOVERNMENT. 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.
“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.”
He concluded his post by calling on recipients of SNAP benefits to “call the Senate Democrats” and “tell them to reopen the Government”, providing the number for Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer’s office.
And so, as uncertainty remains over the funding of SNAP, Twitter/X users have condemned the event and the optics:
“Very on brand for him,” wrote Democratic commentator Kaivan Shroff:
Another account tweeted sarcastically: “Glad that Trump can have a fun night”:
“Does he care about anyone [but] himself and his billionaire buddies,” asked a third:
And progressive commentator Alex Cole said the MAGA movement is “getting exactly what they voted for”:
Grim - and not in a spooky way…
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