As the US Government shutdown nears its first month, citizens who are reliant on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP food aid might just feel the shutdown’s negative effect where it hurts the most: the stomach. Such is the case for one Republican voter from Utah, who is now worried that his family won’t be able to get their Thanksgiving turkey since SNAP is set to be paused in November. But what really made his post go viral was when he blamed the Democrats for his predicament.
The post (and rant) was from Chandler Parry of Utah, who used his initially public Threads account to complain in late October that, “Well since SNAP benefits are going to be paused, that effects my mom’s ability to get Thanksgiving items for Thanksgiving dinner.. does anyone know where we could get a turkey..? (Thanks alot you scumbag democrats..).” Parry’s post quickly gained traction with many people correcting him.
Sadly, the Utah Republican might have felt a little too overwhelmed by all the attention his rant attracted and has since changed his Threads account to private, which is why many people reuploaded it on other social media apps. Parry’s complaint, however, got lambasted, especially since he apparently “voted for this,” and recent data shows that SNAP cuts, restrictions, and restructures were spearheaded by Republicans.
Even before the 2nd Trump administration, and as far back as 2013, Republicans in Congress have repeatedly proposed reducing SNAP funding. Now, however, the Trump administration appears poised to halt SNAP in many US states in light of the ongoing government shutdown. Prior to the government shutdown, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act from July 2025 also cut down SNAP funding.
People online weren’t sympathetic
Parry’s case, sadly, is just one among many Republicans and Trump voters who are currently reeling from the effects of the government shutdown. Some have lost their jobs due to the federal worker layoffs, while others were shocked that their health insurance shot up by 4000 percent. With the SNAP cuts and freezes, food is not the latest necessity to be affected by the current political turmoil in the Trump administration. With that said, people online kept pointing out how many of those ranting about it also voted for it.
“Also, trump cancelled 94 million pounds of food aid to food banks recently. 94 million pounds in food aid to food banks. Yup. That’s the guy they voted for!,” according to a Reddit user. Meanwhile, another critic drew people’s attention to the president’s new ballroom, “Trump needed the money for his ballroom. Not to mention paying himself $230 million in taxpayer dollars.”
While Chandler Parry of Utah could also go to food banks in place of SNAP, that also comes with its own caveat, according to another commenter, “They can go to their local Food Bank (which are running very low on protein’s, because ranchers are price gouging, and now pissy because Argentina). I’m sure their local Christian Nationalist church will be happy to help out.” The bottom line is that many people’s Thanksgivings are going to be badly affected.
