Trump-tapped economist describes poverty as ‘a choice’ in rant against SNAP recipients

Economist E.J. Antoni, who President Donald Trump nominated to take charge of the Labor Department before reversing course, erupted at Americans receiving federal food assistance on Monday on Fox Business, claiming that many of them chose to live in poverty.

There are around 42 million Americans – including 16 million children – who receive food assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, which, due to Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, is projected to boot at least 2.4 million people from the program, though it may affect as many as 22.3 million families over 10 years.

And, while the program provides an average monthly benefit of just under $188 per month in food assistance, with strict income caps that average out across the nation at $20,352 per year, Antoni considered it a “moral issue” for many Americans to even receive said benefits.

“Yes, you can see how many of them are in poverty, have little to no income, but for many of these people, that's a choice!” Antoni said. “That's not right, and this is actually a moral issue, it's not just economic; it is morally wrong that the taxpayer is footing the bill for people who can but are simply choosing not to work. That's not right!”

Fox Business anchor Taylor Riggs jumped into the conversation as well, and recalled how her father – who she suggested owned a business – struggled to hire workers amid the COVID-19 pandemic due to offering low wages, or, at least, wages lower than what unemployment benefits offered, which the CARES Act bolstered with an additional $600 per week for three months, later lowered to $300 before ultimately expiring.

“I firmly believe in my blood [that] there is dignity in work. Work is a moral issue; it's good for the soul, it's good for families, it's good for communities, it's good for your work ethic, it's good for kids to see moms and dads go off to work every day,” Riggs said.

“...We're undergoing a shift in society right now where there are some younger workers who don't want to work, maybe where there's sort of this entitlement, and I'm hoping that that isn't the case. Is that changing? Is this new generation thinking 'nah, I feel entitled, I kind of want to sit at home and collect that paycheck, I'm not sure I want revenue, I think I want handouts!'”