Federal judge shuts down Donald Trump

| 10:40 pm EDT October 19, 2020
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If Marie Antoinette truly said, “Let them eat cake,” she at least wasn’t actively trying to make sure French peasants ate nothing. That level of depraved leadership is classic Donald Trump, who has been hellbent on pushing nearly 700,000 Americans toward starvation even as the coronavirus pandemic rages on. However, thanks to a federal judge’s ruling on Sunday, Trump’s latest sadistic fantasy will not become a dystopian reality.

Last December, the Trump administration came up with an idea for instituting work requirements for recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly known as food stamps. The stated goal at the time was “to restore the dignity of work” and “be respectful of the taxpayers who fund the program.” Since this idea was proposed before the pandemic hit, the fact it would disqualify 688,000 people from food benefits was simply another instance of Trump’s cruelty as usual.

Since that time, the coronavirus has infected over 8 million Americans and caused over 220,000 deaths. Another 8 million Americans have fallen into poverty since May, according to a Columbia University study published last week. Given the extraordinary circumstances, other administrations might have tapped the breaks on this horrific idea. Trump, however, has gone full speed ahead, once again proving he’s all about hurting the very Americans he swore an oath to protect.

U.S. District Court Judge Beryl Howell struck down Trump’s heartless proposal while slamming the administration for being “icily silent” about the high number of people who would lose benefits. Judge Howell also pointed out that Trump’s proposal “radically and abruptly alters decades of regulatory practice, leaving States scrambling and exponentially increasing food insecurity for tens of thousands of Americans.” Judge Howell’s ruling comes after the Trump administration appealed her order that temporarily blocked the proposal in March on account of the pandemic.

Last month, Palmer Report told you about how Trump snuck a self-promoting letter into food boxes for needy families, aiming to turn the Farmers to Families Food Box Program into a free campaigning opportunity. As if this was not corrupt enough, the fact Trump pulled this shameless stunt while working hard to drive hundreds of thousands of Americans toward starvation during a pandemic further cements the case for Biden-Harris on November 3. If Trump were smart, he would start focusing his attention on meal options in prison.