The current administration is refusing to use emergency funds to avoid a lapse in benefits for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which will have dire consequences for the 1 in 8 Americans who rely on monthly food assistance. More than two dozen states are suing the administration to make the funds accessible, but far-right Daily Wire commentator Matt Walsh has dismissed the millions of Americans fearful that their families will go hungry, calling them “lazy” and “entitled” thieves.
“Has anyone ever starved to death in the modern history of this country because they haven’t had access to food?” Walsh said. “I mean, has that actually happened in this country?” He argued that a loss of SNAP benefits shouldn’t be worrisome because people should have other “lines of defense,” like family, friends, and soup kitchens.
Walsh then launched into a long diatribe, claiming that most people who utilize the benefits are actually just “bad.” He stated:
> “And in fact, if you look at what food stamp recipients are saying in their own words, you come away with the distinct impression that almost none of these people actually need the food stamps. Instead, you come away with the impression that many of these people are simply entitled, lazy, barely literate, and, like, some of them are just frankly bad people.”
He called this a “moral outrage” and insisted that taxpaying Americans have every right to be upset about what he described as theft of their money. He added,
> “There are a lot of people who, rather than get a job, would prefer to rob grocery stores and the people shopping inside them.”
Walsh’s comments echo age-old stereotypes about people who utilize welfare programs. In reality, a January report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities found that 38% of SNAP recipients are working families, 37% include a disabled family member or older adult, and 62% include families with children. The Center called SNAP “the nation’s most important anti-hunger program.”
Another report highlighted that SNAP helps 1 in 10 low-wage workers in the country put food on the table.
> “Millions of Americans work in jobs with low wages, inconsistent schedules, and no benefits such as paid sick leave,” the report explained, “all of which contribute to high turnover and spells of unemployment. Many of these workers get help putting food on the table through SNAP.”
As the potential lapse in SNAP benefits looms, the administration is blaming Democrats, accusing them of refusing to reopen the federal government to fund the program because they are holding out “for healthcare for illegal aliens and gender mutilation procedures.”
The government shutdown is now stretching into its fifth week. Senate Democrats have indeed refused to fully back a Republican-led stopgap bill that would reopen the government and fund it at previous levels through November 21. However, contrary to the USDA’s messaging, Democrats are actually holding out for legislation that would extend federal subsidies to prevent the cost of Affordable Care Act (ACA) health insurance plans from skyrocketing next year.
Republicans, meanwhile, refuse to negotiate on these subsidies unless Democrats agree to reopen the government.
Matt Walsh is well-known for creating anti-trans documentaries and spreading hateful rhetoric online. He has compared raising gay children to human trafficking and even cutting off arms. Walsh has openly stated that “two men shouldn’t be allowed to adopt.”
He has relentlessly attacked trans people in every capacity. Walsh went as far as to star in a feature-length comedy film designed to mock trans women and girls fighting for the right to participate in sports consistent with their gender identity.
Last year, Walsh called for trans people to be “entirely erased from the earth” at an anti-trans rally outside the Supreme Court. In 2022, he told conservative podcaster Joe Rogan that homosexuality is a result of humans being a “fallen species” and stems from “our fallen human nature” and “proclivities towards sin,” explaining his opposition to same-sex marriage.
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The ongoing refusal to use emergency funds for SNAP threatens the well-being of millions of vulnerable Americans. Meanwhile, rhetoric like Walsh’s deepens division and misrepresents the realities faced by those who depend on these essential assistance programs.
https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2025/11/far-right-commentator-mocks-snap-recipients-says-most-dont-really-need-help/
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