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In Donald Trump’s inauguration speech, he spoke of returning the White House to the people and pledged “I will fight for you with every breath in my body – and I will never, ever let you down.” However, for all of his I’m-for-the-little-guy populism we saw during the campaign, his young presidency has been marked by cruelty. For starters, his new health plan, Trumpcare, aims to kick 24 million people off their health care plans and his recently-announced budget takes food from America’s most vulnerable.
Thursday, White House Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney held a press conference where he announced Trump’s new budget that slashes social services while boosting military spending. One major cut is the elimination of federal funding for Meals on Wheels, a service that delivers food to the elderly, poor, veterans, and disabled who can’t leave their homes. “Meals on Wheels sounds great,” Mulvaney said, “but we’re not going to spend it on programs that show they deliver the promises we made to people.”
Trump’s new budget also cuts federal funding for after-school educational programs that provide food to poor children which Mulvaney says are ineffective. “There’s no evidence they’re helping kids do better in school,” he said. “We justified it by saying these kids will do better in school and get jobs. We have no proof that’s helping.” Perhaps Mulveney should look at the overwhelming evidence that suggests proper nutrition helps children excel academically and improve their behavior in school.
When asked if these massive cuts to programs that help America’s vulnerable were “hard-hearted,” Mulveney believes they are just the opposite. He believes it’s about “as compassionate as you can get” to go to taxpayers and say, “look, we’re not going to ask you for your hard-earned money anymore. Single mom of two in Detroit, give us your money. We’re not going to do that anymore unless they can guarantee that money will be used in a proper function.” In Trump’s America, compassion looks a lot different than it did a few months ago.
Trump may not support Meals on Wheels, but you can gladly do so on its website.
