On day 31 of the government shutdown, Donald Trump decided to give America a house tour of his bathroom. When 42 million people are losing SNAP benefits the next day, his intellect told him it’s the best time to flaunt his riches.
It takes a special kind of tone-deafness to post glamour shots of a luxury bathroom while millions brace for hunger. And Trump just proved himself the peak of this specialty. On Oct. 31, Trump flooded his Truth Social with 25 photos of the newly refurbished Lincoln Bathroom in the White House. He made sure to take close-ups of the gold accents, ornate molding, and marble design. Oh, and what one user perfectly dubbed the “marble shitter.”
“The Refurbished Lincoln Bathroom in the White House — Highly polished, Statuary marble!” he captioned the post. But the timing to show off a toilet couldn’t have been worse. Beginning the very next day, the U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed that Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits will be suspended. The SNAP is relied on by more than 42 million Americans, who cannot pay for groceries now (via USA Today).
The USDA cited a “lack of funds” behind the decision, which has affected millions in the last two days. While two federal judges ordered the administration to use emergency funds, the payments have not gone out yet. Instead of speeding the decision on SNAP, Trump instead posted another long Truth Social rant. He blamed “Radical Democrats” for the shutdown while pretending to care about hungry families.
“I do NOT want Americans to go hungry,” he wrote, before listing Chuck Schumer’s office number and urging people on SNAP to call and complain. As if his administration isn’t equally, if not more, responsible. But while people pleaded and begged for their rights, Trump must be enjoying a hot tub bath in his new bathroom. Or, not giving a shit on his marble shitter.
Even though the renovations did not happen with taxpayer money, it is an unfortunate metaphor for a government built on self-indulgence and neglect. It’s one thing to renovate, and another to flaunt it while people line up at food banks. And it did not go unnoticed on the internet. Users called it “tone-deaf” and “repulsive,” while calling out his ignorance:
“With millions of Americans bracing to go without healthcare and food as their SNAP benefits and ACA subsidies expire, Trump posts gaudy photos of his expensive bathroom renovation. Absolutely repulsive.”
Others, used to Trump’s stupidity, said: “He’s not tone deaf. He simply doesn’t give a f*ck.” One mocked him, Marie Antoinette style, saying, “Donald the Orange decrees, ‘Let them eat nothing,’ as he boasts about his marble $hitter.” And well, his post might just be the modern equivalent of “Let them eat cake.”
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