
Pollster Matt Towery said Friday that Democrats’ attempts to generate outrage over disruptions to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) could be backfiring as the government shutdown continues.
His comments came during an appearance on Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle,” where he discussed the political fallout from the lapse in food aid funding.
Democrats have blocked a temporary funding measure that would restore the program, which provides assistance to more than 40 million Americans.
Towery said the effort to leverage the shutdown’s impact on SNAP for political gain is beginning to fail with the public.
“I think the public is just now beginning to hear the information about how many people who are receiving food stamps, who simply are not from this country and came into the country illegally,” Towery told host Laura Ingraham.
“And I think as more of this information comes out, you’ll see more resentment for that aspect. Now there’s always been a sympathy among voters for the social safety net. And I just want to add one thing about what the Democrats were doing.”
Towery said the plan to weaponize the issue may be producing the opposite result.
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“I don’t know that these decisions by these judges are helping them because the Democrats really wanted people to not get this assistance and be up in arms and very upset, and cause more turmoil over the next week,” he said.
“And these judges have stepped in and said, ‘Oh well, we think we’re going to feed you. How we’re going to do it. I don’t quite know.’ I do think that we’re seeing a change in public opinion towards all of these benefits.”
Towery added that a broader political shift may be taking shape, particularly among younger Americans who are entering the workforce and reassessing their views on government programs.
“There’s a slow shift. You won’t see it from the legacy pollsters, and you won’t hear from the legacy media. But the country is beginning to shift. And I think it starts with the youngest of voters, the ones who are having to get out there and make money and find jobs,” he said.
Two federal judges ruled on Friday that the Trump administration must access a contingency fund to keep SNAP operating amid the ongoing shutdown.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins confirmed that the $5 billion reserve would be used to temporarily sustain benefits, though she noted the funds would not cover even half of November’s needs if the government remains closed.
“While these funds will allow us to continue operations in the short term, they are not a long-term solution,” Rollins said in a statement.
She added that without congressional cooperation, SNAP and other nutrition programs could face serious shortfalls before the end of the month.
The Department of Agriculture has previously warned that reallocation of funds outside legal parameters is restricted.
However, the administration has already redirected certain tariff revenues and leftover Pentagon research funding to maintain payments for military personnel and continue the Women, Infant and Children (WIC) nutrition program.
President Donald Trump said Friday that he directed White House attorneys to seek a court ruling clarifying whether the administration can lawfully extend SNAP funding during the shutdown.
He accused Democrats of deliberately blocking relief for millions of Americans dependent on the program and said his administration would act immediately once given legal approval.
According to the Department of Agriculture, SNAP serves roughly 42 million Americans each month at a cost of about $9.2 billion.
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