President Donald Trump on Tuesday threatened not to fund SNAP benefits until the government shutdown ends — despite two federal court orders that his administration is required to — prompting a slew of responses online.
Trump shared on his Truth Social platform on Election Day: "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!"
Social media users had plenty of reactions to the president's statement.
"Note: As of November 4, 2025, during an ongoing government shutdown, President Trump has stated he will not fully comply with federal court orders to immediately fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). We are IN a constitutional crisis on voting day in multiple states," Lee West, who self-describes as a "Silicon Valley technofile," wrote on Bluesky.
"Despite federal courts ordering his administration to use the USDA’s contingency funds to pay for SNAP benefits, President Trump says he won’t. 42 million Americans rely on these benefits," CNN anchor Jake Tapper wrote on X.
"Trump is now saying he will only pay SNAP benefits once the Republican shutdown is over, despite a federal court order.
As a result, 42 million kids, seniors, veterans, and people with disabilities could go hungry. This is illegal, immoral, and absolutely cruel," Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) wrote on X.
"BREAKING: Trump just announced that he will hold SNAP BENEFITS to poor people hostage because Democrats want to make your health insurance premiums more affordable. This is ILLEGAL!" Political commentator Brian Krassenstein wrote on X.
"Trump and Republicans said they’d love to release SNAP benefits, but couldn’t because it was against the law. Then two federal judges said the administration *had* to release benefits in the SNAP contingency fund. Now Trump says he will flout the law and not issue benefits," Matt Fuller, MSNBC editor covering Congress, wrote on X.
"Trump is now going against his own administration's plan to partially fund SNAP. He's demanding Democrats end the shutdown and let health insurance costs skyrocket for millions of people, otherwise food assistance won't be released for millions of hungry people ahead of the holidays," Robert Reich, professor and former United States Secretary of Labor, wrote on X.
"Another shameless lie. Trump’s own lawyers at USDA posted (then deleted) the guidance below that SNAP continues during a shutdown. Can someone ask him to explain why he disagrees with Trump’s own lawyers?" Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) wrote on X.
"President Trump refuses to fully fund SNAP, even after two court orders. He plans to fund it partially at his convenience instead of fully & immediately. Partial funding isn’t enough—families, vets, seniors, & people with disabilities deserve full access to benefits," Rep. Robin Kelly (D-IL) wrote on Bluesky.
"Why is this so hard? It's a 50% discount across the board. Just get the Trump loving tech bros to send some database tech geniuses to figure out how to push a button that makes every intended payment only 50% of that payment. And then SEND the funds to the States so they can pay SNAP benefits," a user named Susan, a retired corporate lawyer, wrote on Bluesky.
"We are all living in Russ Vought's fever dream and it is a complete hellscape. Two of the main things that got people through the pandemic economic collapse (Trump I, if you recall) were UI and SNAP," Stetson University College of Law professor Jamie Fox wrote on Bluesky.
"It doesn't make any sense to me, but I guess it's either A) GOP thinks withholding support from SNAP recipients will force Democrats to negotiate (which seems backwards) B) the ideological wing who wants to starve people talked to Trump after he agreed to fund it," CNET editor Peter Butler wrote on Bluesky.