Nebraska Republican agrees food is 'essential' -- but won't say Americans are 'entitled' to eat

A Nebraska Republican refused to say whether all Americans were entitled to food.

Rep. Adrian Smith (R-NE) appeared Saturday on NPR's "Morning Edition," where he discussed farm subsidies and food stamps, which both would be cut under a budget proposed by President Donald Trump, reported The Hill.

Host Scott Simon asked Smith "bluntly" whether he believed every American was entitled to eat, but the lawmaker refused to give a straight answer.

"Well, they — nutrition, obviously, we know is very important, and I would hope that we can look to —" Smith said.

Scott cut him off and reminded the lawmaker that living creatures died without food.

"Well, not just important, it's essential for life," Scott said. "Is every American entitled to eat?"

Smith agreed that eating was "essential" to earth-based life forms, and Scott again asked the lawmaker if Americans had a right to eat.

"I think that we know that, given the necessity of nutrition, there could be a number of ways that we could address that," Smith said.