This is an adapted excerpt from the Nov. 5 episode of “The Briefing with Jen Psaki.”
Donald Trump and Republicans are lying to the public left and right — but there are some lies that you just can’t get away with.
The president has shown a remarkable ability over the years to convince large swaths of the American public of all sorts of things that aren’t true, but there are topics Trump’s lies just aren’t sticking. No matter how much Trump tries, his spin is no match for reality when it starts to hit Americans at home. People can tell if their groceries are getting more expensive.
According to a new poll from The Washington Post, ABC News and Ipsos, 71% of Americans say groceries are more expensive now than they were a year ago. The same poll found 59% of Americans blame the president “a great deal” or “a good amount” for the current rate of inflation and rising prices.
According to a new poll, 71% of Americans say groceries are more expensive now than they were a year ago.
That’s an important thing to remember as we think about what we saw in elections all across the country this week.
Now, don’t get me wrong — there are a million reasons why Democrats won so many races on Tuesday. But, according to Trump, there was one major reason behind the Democrats’ success and the Republicans’ failure: the ongoing government shutdown.
On Wednesday, ahead of a meeting with Republican senators, the president told reporters: “I thought we’d have a discussion after the press leaves about what last night represented and what we should do about it. And also about the shutdown and how that relates to last night. If you read the pollsters, the shutdown was a big factor — negative for the Republicans.”
Trump’s right. Poll after poll has shown that the American public blames Republicans for the government shutdown. That is because the shutdown is not some big abstract political thing happening in D.C.; it is affecting Americans’ lives in real, tangible ways that Republicans can’t spin their way out of.
On Tuesday, despite court orders from two different federal judges requiring the Trump administration to fund SNAP, the food stamp program that nearly 42 million Americans rely on, the president claimed he would refuse to release any funding until Democrats caved and ended the shutdown.
The president is choosing to make this as painful as possible.
The White House has since walked back that claim, but food is still not on Americans’ tables. Although the Trump administration said it will partially fund SNAP benefits this month, millions of Americans still may not actually see that aid any time soon, because the guidance the U.S. Department of Agriculture has given for distributing those partial benefits is filled with red tape that could mean it will take weeks before anyone can actually access those funds.
Just like the Trump administration’s decision not to fund SNAP in the first place, none of that is necessary. The president is choosing to make this as painful as possible. On Wednesday, a USDA official told a federal court that once those funds are eventually distributed, SNAP recipients will receive only 65% of what they are entitled to. The average SNAP allowance is $187 per person a month. Trump wants to make that just $121.55. Can you imagine trying to buy a month’s worth of groceries with $121.55? However, on Thursday, a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to fully fund SNAP benefits for November by Friday — halting the president’s cuts, for now. But that is the reality the Trump administration wants to force upon millions of Americans — and that is a reality that no amount of lies can spin.
Jen Psaki is the host of "The Briefing with Jen Psaki" airing Tuesdays through Fridays at 9 p.m. EST. She is the former White House press secretary for President Joe Biden.
Allison Detzel is an editor/producer for MS NOW.
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