As the government shutdown prevails, its consequences have become more harrowing. Aside from the thousands of federal employees who aren’t working, working without pay, or are at risk to be laid off, 42 million Americans are now worried about how they will eat. On Nov. 1, funding stopped for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. 42 million people are no longer receiving aid to buy food. 16 million children rely on SNAP to eat. The families of 16 million kids are worried about how they’re going to feed them. These are real people who are being deprived of a fundamental life source, who are going to be at risk of starving unless their benefits come back.
On Oct. 28, 25 states asked a Massachusetts federal judge to order the Department of Agriculture, who are in charge of SNAP, to provide SNAP benefits through November. On Oct. 31, the Massachusetts federal judge formally declared that the Department of Agricultural needs to use the 5.25 million in contingency funds to at least make partial payments for SNAP. It’s unclear as to how long it would take to get people their SNAP again because the Department of Agriculture is arguing that they don’t have access to those funds.
People are already mad about the loss of funding for SNAP already, but the Trump Administration is increasing that fury with the construction of the new ballroom in the White House. The country has been in a government shutdown since Oct. 1, but the construction of the new ballroom wasn’t put on hold. While millions of Americans are wondering how they’re going to put food on the table, the Trump Administration is focused on building a ballroom so they can hold bigger parties. Over the summer the White House released a statement about the new ballroom.
“The White House is currently unable to host major functions honoring world leaders and other countries without having to install a large and unsightly tent approximately 100 yards away from the main building entrance” the White House stated.
Is this really a priority when there is a genocide in Gaza? When ICE agents are deporting innocent Americans? Women, trans people, and members of the LGBTQ+ community are losing their rights, but apparently a ballroom is the most important issue right now.
I was motivated to write this article after seeing numerous comments on videos of the ballroom construction saying, “let them eat cake.” This quote written by Jean-Jacques Rousseau although commonly misattributed to Marie Antoinette, symbolizes the separation between the rich and poor and implies that the rich are out of touch with the struggles of the poor. The statement fits this situation perfectly. I’ve read multiple news articles about stopping funding to SNAP and there wasn’t a comment from Trump in any of them. He didn’t care to say anything when millions of citizens in the country he’s supposed to be in charge of can’t buy food anymore. In the statement about the new ballroom from the White House Trump said he was committed to building the new ballroom and providing more space to hold major functions “on behalf of future Administrations and the American people.” If Trump really cared about the American people why isn’t he working to keep SNAP up and running? Why isn’t he telling the Department of Agriculture to continue finding? Why isn’t he telling his billionaire friends, like Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, and Tim Cook, who’ve all donated millions of dollars to pay for the construction of the new ballroom, to donate money so Americans can eat? Where is he when the American people actually need him?
It’s truly shocking to me how ignorant this administration is. There have been countless times in the past year where I am left speechless by their actions and lack of empathy towards the lower income American citizens, but this situation is the most baffling by far. I’ve known since Trump’s first term that his administration doesn’t care about me, my family, my friends, my neighbors, or the majority of this country. It’s just a different experience when I can watch the blatant disregard to actual problems and needs of this country. I feel like everyday I am dumbfounded by the lack of humanity, morals, and common decency this administration presents. I genuinely feel like I’m living in a dystopian novel, when our government prioritizes building a new party room instead of providing funding to the program that helps poor people buy food for themselves and their families.
