OH SNAP!

‘SNL’ Star Goes Nuclear on MAGA Hate for Food Stamp Families

“Weekend Update” co-anchor Michael Che was serious for once.

Saturday Night Live star Michael Che condemned the hatred being stoked by President Donald Trump’s supporters against recipients of SNAP benefits, also known as “food stamps.”

In a fiery Instagram post, Che wrote, “This SNAP freeze is really f---ed up. and I keep seeing a lotta racist videos celebrating (mostly black) families not being able to buy groceries.. theres this weird idea that since some people have taken advantage of welfare benefits in the hood, NOBODY should receive help, at all..?“

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Che continued, “this country is built on greedy motherf----rs taking shortcuts and gaming the system to their benefit, but for some reason, when poor people find a way to turn nickel into a dime, they’re judged more severely, especially blacks. i kno the whole hustle is to hate each other here so we can fight in the comments and up our engagements. But lets draw the line at feeding the poor.”

“I grew up on free cheese and powdered milk and waiting for your friends to leave the store so they wont see me pay with stamps. that s--t ain’t as glamorous as it sounds. i promise,” he wrote.

It was a rare somber moment from Che, who has served as SNL‘s “Weekend Update” co-anchor alongside Colin Jost since 2014, after joining the show as a writer the year prior.

The Department of Agriculture, which oversees the SNAP program, has warned that because of the government shutdown, the program’s 42 million recipients may not receive benefits after Saturday, although the president has said he will fund the program if given “the appropriate legal direction.”

Two federal judges have ruled that the government cannot suspend SNAP benefits, with both requesting updates on the restoration of funding by no later than Monday.

Meanwhile, numerous videos claiming to feature SNAP recipients “gaming the system” and complaining about losing their source of income have gone viral in recent weeks, drawing ire from conservatives who have been quick to use the videos as proof of undeserving SNAP recipients. Almost all of these videos, which are likely the ones Che is referring to in his post, feature Black individuals.

Fox News contributor Brett Cooper posted a video reacting to several of those videos, responding to one by saying, “This is insane. You’re telling me that it is my responsibility to make sure that your children are fed?”

However, the majority of clips conservatives have seized upon are not real: many of the videos were made with OpenAI’s Sora 2 video generator, and designed to play into racist stereotypes about people who receive SNAP benefits.

OpenAI, which was originally co-founded by Elon Musk and is currently overseen by CEO Sam Altman, did not immediately return a request for comment.

The AI videos also provided cover to politicians like GOP congressman Clay Higgins, who told SNAP recipients to “stop smoking crack” if they couldn’t figure out how to stock their pantries on $4,200, an amount he claimed was what the average SNAP family receives in a year.

A report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimates that the average benefit per person is $188 per month, or $6.17 per day—almost half of the number Higgins claimed. With food prices rising by more than 23 percent since 2020, the average American now spends more than $900 on groceries each month.

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Fox News also reported on the videos, initially publishing an article with the headline, “SNAP beneficiaries threaten to ransack stores over government shutdown.”

After learning that the videos were AI-generated, it changed the headline to, “AI videos of SNAP beneficiaries complaining about cuts go viral” and added an editor’s note that read, “This article previously reported on some videos that appear to have been generated by AI without noting that. This has been corrected.”

While Republicans wait for permission to feed the 42 million Americans who receive food stamps, food pantries across the country are seeing significantly longer lines than usual. One food pantry in New York City, Che’s hometown, saw 200 more people than average lining up for basic necessities on Saturday.

The USDA website currently displays a notice that reads, “Senate Democrats have now voted 13 times to not fund the food stamp program, also known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Bottom line, the well has run dry. At this time, there will be no benefits issued November 01.“

The message goes on to repeat MAGA talking points, reading, “We are approaching an inflection point for Senate Democrats. They can continue to hold out for healthcare for illegal aliens and gender mutilation procedures or reopen the government so mothers, babies, and the most vulnerable among us can receive critical nutrition assistance.”

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