Let SNAP Freeloaders Eat Cake!

Some charts, tables and hyperlinks to show to your Fox loving uncle about the SNAP program

The past week on Fox was wonky - the network spent most of its focus praising Trump during his visit to Asia and promoting Turning Point USA, the nonprofit co-created by the late Charlie Kirk. The network also trashed the Democratic Party while it aggressively promoted Republican gubernatorial candidates in Virginia and New Jersey.

The only topic worth debunking was the network’s misrepresentation of the SNAP program (Supplement Nutrition Assistance Program) that helps feed nearly 42 million Americans.

Since Trump’s political resurrection Fox News has promoted the president and the Republican Party as champions for working class Americans. Trump is portrayed as a warrior for lower income Americans who are struggling with outsourced jobs, shuttered factories, lower wages and ever-increasing costs for just about everything.

During his last campaign for president Trump promised to lower prices on groceries, housing, healthcare, electricity and gasoline. He emotionally whipped up his crowds like a preacher promising that his divine powers would make all their problems go away.

He alone could fix it. So far most of his base still believes that the magic will happen and Fox News is more than happy to feed their delusions.

Shows I covered on Fox News last week:

• Fox & Friends

• The Five

• Hannity

• Several Trump press conferences

How Trump is Blocking Food for the Poorest Americans

Thirty-seven days ago, Democrats and Republicans could not agree to pass a funding bill that would have funded the government past October 1st. The main issue Democrats are fighting for is an extension of healthcare subsidies for Americans enrolled in Affordable Care Act exchanges along with a reversal of Trump’s cuts to Medicaid.

If changes are not made to both programs, healthcare costs could rise dramatically for millions of Americans. Many will not be able to afford to pay increased prices for their health insurance premiums and others will be kicked off of Medicaid programs for lower income Americans.

One of the casualties of this budgetary battle has been SNAP. Trump has declared that he will not fund the program in November even though multiple federal judges have ruled against him.

Even though the Department of Agriculture, the agency in charge of SNAP, has a reserve fund totaling tens of billions of dollars the Trump administration has still not complied with court rulings to fund the program.

Fox News promoted Trump’s agenda by demonizing SNAP recipients and misrepresenting the program to its audience.

SNAP on The Five

On Wednesday on The Five, the network dedicated an extended segment to trashing the program that helps feed low income Americans.

“Funding for Snap food stamps is set to run out this week, and Democrats are refusing to budge because it’s easier to blame the orange man,” said Greg Gutfeld.

Dana Perino seemed shocked that millions of Americans still needed the SNAP program.

“I think it was a little jarring this morning to realize that 1 in 8 Americans are still needing the supplemental nutritional supplement. Now, that is something I think post, shutdown maybe we should all talk about,” said Dana Perino.

Greg Gutfeld implied that only Democrats were in the SNAP program.

“You should look into who is getting them, what proportion of the party they belong,” said Gutfeld.

Joey Johnny Jones, a guest host, seemed to know absolutely nothing about most SNAP recipients.

“And that’s before Mamdani becomes mayor of this place. I mean, yeah, I think you said a few seconds ago, why are people on SNAP? Why did they continue to need to be on SNAP? And maybe it does need things like work requirements,” said Jones.

According to a recent report by the USDA

• Most of the people participating in the program are children, elderly persons, or individuals with a disability. Roughly 86% of all SNAP benefits go to households that include a child, elderly person, or person with disabilities.

• About 92% of all SNAP benefits go to households with income at or below the federal poverty line.

• Almost one-third of SNAP households have earned income, though only 20% of households have gross monthly income above the federal poverty line. The average SNAP household’s monthly gross income is $872 and net income is $398.

• Most SNAP recipients do not also receive welfare benefits. Only 4% of all SNAP households, and only 10% of SNAP households with children, receive benefits through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program.

• Most SNAP recipients do not get the maximum benefit. Roughly 64% get less than the maximum benefit. The average household benefit for SNAP is only $258 per month. The average allotment for a single person on SNAP was only $188 per month.

• In 2024 SNAP only amounted to 1.5% of total federal spending.

White Americans make up the largest demographic in the SNAP program.

Joey Johnny Jones - Misleading Stat

During the same program Joey Johnny Jones made a misleading statement about the amount of SNAP benefits that go to New York State.

“On the SNAP thing, just real quick. Almost $700 million of $8 billion a month comes to New York for snap. That’s almost 10% of the country’s SNAP comes to New York,” said Jones.

At first glance it does seem alarming that one state out of fifty might receive nearly 10% of the funding for the entire program.

For starters Jones needs a calculator as 700 million of 8 billion is only 8.75%. The U.S. population is also not evenly distributed throughout the country. Roughly 1/3 of all Americans live in four states - California, Texas, Florida and New York.

New York has a population of 19,867,248 or roughly 5.84% of the total population. This is a breakdown of SNAP benefits for the most populated states in the U.S.. All of the data from the following tables is from the Center on Budget Policy and Priorities.

When New York is compared to other large states it has a highest poverty rate but only a slightly higher rate for SNAP. Each state has its own rules for SNAP eligibility. Some states make it more difficult for residents to qualify for the program.

This is a list of the states with the highest rate of SNAP participation.

States with the highest poverty rates

Tarlov Sets the Record Straight

During the same program Jessica Tarlov explained the shutdown.

“Republicans are in charge. They’re not 60 votes in charge, but they’ve got a majority of the way there. And when you are in charge and you don’t have all the votes that you need, it is incumbent upon you to make a deal with the people whose votes you need. And based on prior voting for CR (continuing resolution), you know that there are moderate Democrats who would certainly be willing to have a conversation with you if you would do that properly and not open up the government and then make the same promises that they have for months.

I mean, this has been going on since the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ was signed that they’ve been saying, yeah, we want to do something on ACA premiums. And then they keep kicking the can down the road . . . The navigator survey, which shows that the American public is blaming the Republicans by 14 points now, and it was just ten points last week. The story about Democrats cutting off SNAP benefits and that were the heartless ones. And Mike Johnson feels terrible is how you say B.S. Mike Johnson in his ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ $186 billion gone from the SNAP program.

And in the 2018 shutdown, Donald Trump made sure that people got their SNAP benefits because he knows that it’s important. And that’s why Josh Hawley wants to have a standalone bill about snap Josh Hawley, who also wants a standalone bill to make sure the people get their Medicaid coverage back because the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ takes it away,” said Tarlov.

As usual Brian Kilmeade Doesn’t Know What He’s Talking About

On Friday Brian Kilmeade misrepresented the SNAP program on Fox & Friends.

“So for now, the military is getting paid on Saturday. This is really going to hurt in various states, especially, some states have about 7% of people on SNAP programs that that aid program for food and basic staples. You have now SNAP payments not being issued. The week program will run out of funding this week.”

According to the USDA in 2024 12.3% of Americans received SNAP benefits. The rates vary from state to state the highest being New Mexico at 21%.

Stories Fox News Ignored

Every week I compare the hours I’ve watched on Fox News to five hours of the PBS News Hour. The following list are stories that PBS covered that Fox News did not. This list has been slightly truncated due to space. Source - PBS News Hour transcripts.

• A U.N. human rights commission has found that Russian drone attacks on Ukrainian civilians amount to crimes against humanity and war crimes. The independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine reported hundreds of strikes on the southern city of Kherson. These include dropping hand grenades on civilians in their backyards and attacking first responders. The commission found that the strikes are intended to create what it called a permanent climate of terror. Russia has denied targeting civilians and has refused to cooperate with U.N. investigators. (PBS News Hour)

• Amazon is slashing 14,000 corporate jobs as the company invests heavily in artificial intelligence. The cuts comprise about 4% of Amazon’s overall work force, and they follow comments in June from the CEO, who said generative A.I. would likely reduce the need for corporate staff over the coming years. In 2023, the online retailer announced it was shedding 27,000 jobs after a boom in hiring during the COVID pandemic. (PBS News Hour)

• The Israeli military carried out a targeted strike on Northern Gaza last Wednesday, even as Israel says its cease-fire with Hamas is still in place. The attack near Beit Lahia targeted areas where Israel says Hamas was storing weapons. Palestinian officials say at least two people were killed.

  It comes after Israel carried out heavy airstrikes across Gaza, killing more than 100 people, including 46 children. Israel says the strikes were in retaliation for the killing of an Israeli soldier in Southern Gaza, as well as a violation by Hamas related to the return of hostage remains. They were the deadliest attacks since the cease-fire started earlier this month. (PBS News Hour)

• A jury in Illinois convicted a former sheriff’s deputy today of second-degree murder for killing Sonya Massey, who had called 911 for help. The jury did not convict Sean Grayson of first-degree murder, which could have meant life in prison. Instead, the 31-year-old faces up to 20 years or possibly probation.

  Grayson and another deputy responded to Massey’s home last year after she reported a possible intruder. Grayson shot Massey as she held a pot of boiling water. His lawyers argued he feared that she would throw it at him. (PBS News Hour)

• PBS produced a segment about a recent poll in Nature that showed 75% of researchers in math and science are considering leaving the U.S. due to the Trump administration’s push to slash federal spending, the National Science Foundation was forced to suspend $1 billion in grants. (PBS News Hour)

• The Trump administration is slashing the number of refugees it allows into the country each year to just 7,500, and most of those will be white South Africans. That is far less than last year’s ceiling of 125,000 set by the Biden administration.

  A notice posted on the Federal Register says the limit is “justified by humanitarian concerns or is otherwise in the national interest.” President Trump suspended all refugee admissions in January and started admitting white South Africans a month later because of claims that they face discrimination at home. South Africa’s government strongly denies that. (PBS News Hour)

• President Trump had requested that federal voter registration forms require documentary proof of citizenship, like a passport. But District judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly found that to be a violation of the separation of powers.

  The decision is a blow to President Trump and his allies, who argue that such a requirement is necessary to ensure trust in the nation’s elections. (PBS News Hour)

• Radio Free Asia suspended its news operations last Friday. The nonprofit broadcaster is also closing overseas bureaus and laying off employees. RFA had been operating with the skeleton staff since President Trump moved to cut its federal funding earlier this year. The ongoing government shutdown has only added to its budget problems. Radio Free Asia was founded in 1996 and has been one of the few independent news sources in that region. Its president held out hope that it could return in the future. (PBS News Hour)

• Starting last Friday, YouTube TV subscribers are no longer able to view any Disney content on that Google-owned streaming platform. That includes major networks like ABC, ESPN, Nat Geo and others. The blackout is due to a failure by Disney and Google to reach a new licensing deal. For now, though, consumers who want to watch those channels will have to do so on Disney’s own platforms. (PBS News Hour)

• As the government shutdown continues, several key programs are at risk. One of them is Head Start, the federal program that provides early childhood education, health and food support for low-income families. William Brangham discussed the potential impacts with Tommy Sheridan of the National Head Start Association, a nonprofit that advocates for Head Start funding and works with its programs. (PBS News Hour)

• Sudan’s civil war has entered a new and horrific phase as paramilitary Rapid Support Forces have gone on a killing rampage after taking over the key city of El Fasher in western Darfur. Hundreds of thousands have fled after witnessing mass executions and brutal violence. The U.N. and international humanitarian groups accuse the RSF of entering El Fasher’s Saudi Maternity Hospital and killing everyone inside. At least 450 people are dead. (PBS News Hour)

By the Numbers

Trump's CBS 60 Minute Interview - The Cutting Room Floor

This past Sunday CBS aired an interview with President Donald J. Trump on 60 Minutes. The condensed edit that aired during the news program was only 28 minutes long with some additional material available on “60 Minutes Overtime.”

The network also published a transcript of the full-length un-edited interview which was 78 minutes long.

This is what was left over in the full length transcript after I reconstructed how producers shaped the interview.

These segments are in the order they appeared in the transcript. I couldn’t include them easily in the other version as the edit that aired on television included sections that were not sequential.

Each fragment of the interview is labeled by subject.

President Xi

TRUMP: Well, first of all, we get along great, and we always really have. We had the COVID moment, which was not-- attractive as far as I was concerned. I wasn’t so happy. But outside of that, we have always had a great relationship. He’s a powerful man. He’s a strong man, a very powerful leader. And-- we’ve always-- had the best of relationships, probably the best of-- I could-- I think I could speak for him, just about as good as it gets from his standpoint and from my standpoint. And having that is important because of the power of the two countries.

O’DONNELL: What did you get out of this deal that you wanted?

TRUMP: Well, I got sort of everything that we wanted. We got-- no rare earth threat. That’s gone, completely gone. We have tremendous amounts of-- dollars pouring in-- ‘cause we have-- very big tariffs, almost 50%. We never had anything in terms of tariffs, although I put tariffs on China, but Biden let it lapsed by the-- by the fact that he gave exemptions on almost everything, which was just ridiculous.

The video player is currently playing an ad.But-- we have-- billions and billions of dollars coming in, and we have a very good relationship. I mean, we have-- a great relationship with a powerful country. And I’ve always felt if we can make deals that are good, it’s better to get along with China than not, if you can’t make the right kind of a deal than not, because, you know, China, along with many other countries (they’re not alone in this), they’ve ripped us off from day one.

They’ve ripped us so much. They’ve taken trillions of dollars out of our country. And now they’re-- it’s the opposite. I mean, we’re doing very well with China, and hopefully they’re gonna do very well with us. But I do think it’s important that China and the U.S. get along, and we get along very well at the top.

Immigration

TRUMP: --people are allowed to come into our country, but they have to come in legally.

O’DONNELL: I do want to talk about immigration and some other-

TRUMP: Sure.

O’DONNELL: --domestic issues. But just-- if we could stay on China for just a moment--

TRUMP: Sure.

Trump the Peace Maker

TRUMP: Before the ninth month I stopped eight wars. The only one I haven’t been successful yet in, and-- and that’ll happen, is Russia Ukraine, which I thought actually would be the easiest one because I have a very good relationship with President Putin. But-- we are respected again as a country, and that’s the way I’ve been able to stop the wars. I also stopped them because of trade.

Trump Tariffs

O’DONNELL: Except there’s a bathroom on Air Force One--

TRUMP: --but they were sitting in one seat. I was-- I was able to walk around a little bit. But yeah, they said 42 hours. I’ve been in the air for 42 hours over a few days-- and that was fine, because we took in trillions of dollars into our country. And we also-- you know what’s interesting, Japan took tremendous advantage of us over the years. You know, they sold cars to us, we couldn’t sell cars to them. They made a fortune, we didn’t make anything, we lost money. But it’s the exact opposite now.

But you know what? They like us more now than they used to because they respect us now. They didn’t used to respect us, and they have great respect for us, all of ‘em. Every country has-- including China. China now has great respect for us. They didn’t have respect for us when they had Biden and when they had Obama. Obama was a terrible president. Nobody wants to talk about it because they wanna be politically correct. I don’t care. He was a terrible president. Our country was-- it really started a very bad downward spiral. Then I stopped it, then we had a rigged election, and then-- what-- what Biden did to our country should never, ever be forgotten.

O’DONNELL: We’re still on-- on foreign policy, so I just have another question--

TRUMP: No, I’m with-- I’m on all policy.

O’DONNELL: I know you are--

TRUMP: I’m not talking about foreign-- no, no. I’m talking about everything.

O’DONNELL: Well, I just wanna--

TRUMP: I’m talking about economy, I’m talking about everything—

Government Shutdown

O’DONNELL: Is there something you can do, though--

TRUMP: Maybe it did.

O’DONNELL: Is there something you can do--

TRUMP: All I can do--

O’DONNELL: --to bring this to an end?

TRUMP: --is give the facts. Here’s what I can’t do. I can’t give them $1.5 trillion so that they can give welfare to people that came into our country illegally. So that prisoners, and that people from mental institutions, and people that are drug dealers get vast amounts of money for healthcare. That I can’t do--

TRUMP: If we fix it it’ll be-- one of the greatest achievements. But--

O’DONNELL: But if ending the government shutdown--

TRUMP: --they have to let the country open, and I’ll sit down with the Democrats, and we’ll fix it. But they have to let the country-- and you know what they have to do--

O’DONNELL: So your plan--

TRUMP: All they have to do is raise five hands. We don’t need all of ‘’em.

A Democrat Congressman Who Fought For Transgender Athletes?

O’DONNELL: Can I ask you about--

TRUMP: --the good thing is, from our standpoint, from the standpoint of winning is, they have the worst policy of-- it’s hard to believe. Think of it. Open borders, men playing in women’s sports, transgender for everybody. I mean, I could go point-- these are not 80:20--

O’DONNELL: Can I ask you about the economy--

TRUMP: --these are 99:1 issues. And they don’t change. I just watched this morning a show where--

O’DONNELL: Mr. President, can I ask you about the-- the economy--

TRUMP: Yeah, just-- just one thing. I watched a show this morning where a very well-known Democrat Congressman was fighting like hell for men playing in women’s sports. They don’t change it--

O’DONNELL: Who was that?

TRUMP: I don’t want to tell. You’ll be able to check it. Just check your local TV.

Political Violence

O’DONNELL: And I know my time is-- is limited with you so I want to be respectful of-- of you, Mr. President. The issue of political violence I want to get to, because you were nearly assassinated in Butler, Pennsylvania. Charlie Kirk.

TRUMP: Yup.

O’DONNELL: Was assassinated. Pennsylvania Governor, Josh Shapiro’s house was firebombed.

TRUMP: Uh-huh.

O’DONNELL: Minnesota lawmaker murdered. What’s your message to those on the left and the right who would seek to commit acts of violence?

TRUMP: Well, I think primarily on the left. A little bit of both, but I think primarily on the left. I think they have to tone it down. I think they have to approve the shutdown so it’s not shut down. I think it’s very bad what they’re doing. They’re hurting people. You know, if you think about it, if people aren’t gonna get paid, there’re gonna be, you know, a lot of angry people out there. They want to get their food. They want to get the money so they can live. In some cases-- whatever they want to get, they want to get.

I think by the Democrats not giving us the votes, I think it’s-- I think it endangers both parties. I think it’s very bad. There’s never been a case like this. This is, you know, this is fairly standard stuff. You do auto-- extensions are almost automatic. In fact, they were virtually automatic. This is the only time they don’t want to do the extension, because they’re losing so badly that they said, “Maybe we have some leverage.” One of the Senators said that. “Maybe this is the first time we have some leverage.”

O’DONNELL: I wonder if we’re--

TRUMP: But they really don’t have leverage, because--

O’DONNELL: I wonder if we’re at a breaking point?

TRUMP: --the Republicans can’t be extorted in order to ruin our country.

O’DONNELL: Do you feel like we’re at a breaking point? Given everything that you--

TRUMP: No.

O’DONNELL: --just said?

TRUMP: No. It’s been much worse.

O’DONNELL: Because you--

TRUMP: I mean, over-- over history?

O’DONNELL: Well.

TRUMP: It’s been much worse.

O’DONNELL: Sure, but the political violence that, you know, we just outlined. The number of-- of members of people in public that have been targeted--

TRUMP: Well, that’s-- that’s a different question. Yeah, I think--

O’DONNELL: --that have been targeted. And then I just read that there’s now a number of your cabinet secretaries and aides who are now living on military bases.

TRUMP: Yeah. Usually when people talk they’re not the problem. It’s the ones that don’t talk, in terms of that. But-- yeah, I-- I think it’s-- it’s a lot of the rhetoric. Look, they call me a Nazi all the time. I’m not a Nazi. I’m the opposite. I’m somebody that’s saving our country. But they call me Nazi. They have talking points, you know? They have just talking points. And the press is-- is largely responsible for it. The fake news, what they’ve done-- I think one of the greatest terms I’ve ever come up with is fake news.

What they’ve done to our country is very bad. They have to change around. Now, nobody believes the fake news. Nobody believes ‘em. I mean, they’ve gone, you talk about popularity, you talk about approval, their approval numbers have gone f-- from, like, in the 90s to in the teens now. We need borders. We need fair votes. And you really need a fair press. If you-- and you do, you have some great journalists and great reporters. But you have some terrible, terrible, dishonest journalists. And I see it all the time, because I’ll give ‘em a story and they’ll have it.

Even my trip with China, it was so successful. But of all, the Wall Street Journal, they said, Trump Lowers Tariffs. That was the headline. Trump Lowers Tariffs. That wasn’t what happened. I lowered tariff-- tariffs in order to get everything that anybody could possibly dream of. The point wasn’t lowering tariffs. I put up a high number, I cut it, and I got everything. And yet the headline in the Wall Street Journal, beautiful picture of myself and President Xi, everything nice. But the headline was Trump Lowers Tariffs.

That wasn’t the story. The story was Trump got everything, got everything. Including world peace. We’re respected as a country. We’re not threatened right now. And we’re not gonna be threatened. As long as we have a strong, smart president, we’re never gonna be threatened by anybody.

CBS

O’DONNELL: Mr. President--

TRUMP: --I see good things happening in the news. I really do. And I think one of the best things to happen is this show and new ownership, CBS and new ownership. I think it’s the greatest thing that’s happened in a long time to a free and open and good press.

Cost of Living

O’DONNELL: And for those that are suffering with cost of living increases and saying they’re living paycheck to paycheck--

TRUMP: Well, I’d be very upset with--

O’DONNELL: Prices are up

TRUMP: --Biden. Because we don’t have any of those problems. We-- we don’t have inflation. You know, essentially we don’t have inflation. We-- I inherited the worst inflation in the history of our country. We don’t have infl-- we’re down to 2%, even less than 2%. A couple of items like beef I’m getting down. But our groceries are down--

O’DONNELL: Healthcare-- healthcare premiums?

TRUMP: I can fix healthcare, give them better healthcare for less money. Obamacare is-- is hurting people. Obamacare was a disaster from day one. I can fix it and make it good. I’d really rather start with a fresh plate, but if it’s-- if it’s required to keep it, we can make it much better. But it’s bad healthcare, and they’re gonna get big increases, and that has nothing to do with me. That has to do with the fact that it was originally put into play. It’s a shame. But we can make it better. Energy is way down. You know, you’re gonna have $2 gasoline very soon.

Nobody could believe it. You were at $4, $5, $6, and even $7. Look at the cost of gasoline in California. What it was, I brought it down. The problem is when I bring it down here in California they put more tax. They-- they tax the gasoline to such an extent. No, we’re in great shape. This country is in great shape. We’re ready to really rock. As I say often--

O’DONNELL: Are you-- are you--

TRUMP: --we were a dead country. We were a dead country one year ago. Now we have the hottest country anywhere in the world. Leaders have said that to me. Just recently they said that to me. Even President Xi, he said, “I’d like you-- you to be congratulated.” He said it so beautifully. “I’d like you to be congratulated on the incredible job you did in bringing back the United States of America.” President Xi said that to me.

O’DONNELL: I know we’re out of time, but just on that matter, we talked about that-- because I know how closely you follow the stock market. Do you worry about an AI bubble?

TRUMP: I guess. I worry about everything, you know? I mean, you know, I’m a worrier. I worry. But you know what I do? I worry and then I fix it. I fix it. That way I don’t have to worry.

O’DONNELL: There’s a lotta money behind AI--

TRUMP: Well, there’s a lotta money. And right now I’m taking advantage of it, because we’re leading AI. You know, we’re leading it by a lot. China’s in second place, but we’re leading it by a lot. We have the greatest minds of any country anywhere in the world, and we’re using that. I’m using those great minds to help us. Now, will something happen later? I guess, you know, something. But it could also be something very good happens. And I hope it’s gonna be very good. But if it’s not so good, we’re protected. Our country is doing great. We’re strong. We’re solid. We’ve never been-- I think we haven’t been like this in-- maybe ever. Maybe ever. We have a great country, and you should be very proud of it.