Politics

Trump Mocked for Saying Food Aid Cuts Will ‘Give Everyone Much More Food’

By Jake Beardslee · May 21, 2025

President Donald Trump is facing ridicule after asserting that cuts to food assistance programs will result in Americans having greater access to food, an explanation many say defies logic.

Speaking to reporters following a closed-door meeting with House Republicans on Capitol Hill, Trump was asked how he could reconcile his campaign promise to lower grocery prices with his administration’s plan to cut food aid.

He responded, “The cut is going to give everybody much more food because prices are coming way down, groceries are down, eggs. You told me about eggs, you asked me a question about eggs in my first week,” he said. “I said, ‘I just got here, tell me about eggs.’ Eggs now are way down, everybody’s buying eggs. Groceries are down, energy is down, they’re buying gasoline now for $1.99. If you look back, you’ll see $3.50, $4.”

His remarks quickly ignited backlash on social media.

One user wrote, “Doesn’t matter how low the prices are when you don’t have enough money to afford food.”

Another added, “Cutting food assistance while prices are ‘coming down’? That’s a gamble millions of vulnerable families can’t afford. Promises don’t fill empty plates, real support does.”

Trump’s claim that gasoline is selling for $1.99 also came under scrutiny. According to Axios, that price point briefly appeared in April but only for Reformulated Gasoline Blendstock for Oxygen Blending, or RBOB, traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange, not at consumer pumps.

Beyond public mockery, critics have warned that the proposed reductions could carry tangible economic harm.

“These reductions don’t just affect people facing hunger. They also hurt the retailers, farmers, and businesses that supply fresh, local food to our region,” a Nevada food bank director told NBC last month.