\u201cIt\u2019s scary,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Trump’s attention, however, was elsewhere, this weekend. Just hours before these food assistance benefits were set to lapse, President Donald Trump hosted a lavish “Great Gatsby”-themed Halloween party at Mar-a-Lago, with the theme: “A little party never killed nobody<\/a>.” And on Friday, he posted dozens of photos<\/a> on social media about his fancy renovation of the Lincoln bathroom in the White House.<\/p>\n Along with the loss of SNAP benefits and the disruption of other social service programs<\/a> for millions of people, the government shutdown has resulted in federal employees going without pay. Many of them have turned to food banks<\/a> and unemployment benefits<\/a> to get by.<\/p>\n Hannah\u2019s mom, Betty, a 63-year-old recent retiree who is a caretaker for her daughter and a longtime Trump supporter, said she is losing confidence in the president she once supported amid the shutdown fight.<\/p>\n \u201cI think deep down he wants to help the country with things like food insecurity,\u201d she said. \u201cBut now he is busy out of the country and demolishing the White House. I know that is being paid for with private funds, but those could be used to help people.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt all seems very selfish,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n Betty Szretter said she now regrets voting for Trump in 2024 and would prefer a Democrat in the White House to \u201cprotect benefits he [Trump] wants to cut.\u201d<\/p>\n The shutdown is compounding problems that have intensified broader anxiety over an economy<\/a> that in recent months has been marked by lingering high prices for many consumer goods, rough jobs numbers, mass layoffs at major companies \u2014 including Amazon<\/a> and Target \u2014 and an uptick in inflation.<\/p>\n That stagnation has in recent months eroded the high approval marks President Donald Trump once enjoyed on the economy.<\/p>\n The bleak picture has some Republicans sounding the alarm to the White House \u2014 even though delivering the news isn\u2019t easy.<\/p>\n \u201cNo one wants to tell the president he\u2019s losing on the economy,\u201d said a Republican strategist who said they recently warned the White House about their concerns.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s overall approval rating sits at 43%, while just 34% of registered voters say he has \u201clived up\u201d to expectations on the economy, 33% say he has \u201clooked out for the middle class\u201d and 30% say he met expectations on inflation, according to a new NBC News poll released Sunday<\/a>.<\/p>\n A White House official blamed Democrats for the prolonged shutdown and argued that some indicators, like growing wages and a booming stock market, are proof the economy has bright spots. The person also argued that the massive tax cuts and tariffs pursued by Trump are going to take time to fully take effect.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think anyone is under any illusions that things are perfect \u2026 but looking at the data, we feel good about the trajectory here,\u201d said the White House official, who, like others in this article, was granted anonymity to speak candidly.<\/p>\n \u201cThe bottom line is that the actual buying power and actual purchasing power of American consumers is going up, and, as far as specific prices go, you know there are things like gas and eggs that have gone down,\u201d the official said. They also asserted that Trump\u2019s pursuit of investment in the U.S. will pay major dividends in the future for American workers and consumers.<\/p>\n Sen. Bernie Moreno, an Ohio Republican and Trump ally, said in an interview with NBC News that he remains optimistic about the economy.<\/p>\n \u201cThe state of the economy is very strong, if you look at real wages that continue to go up,\u201d Moreno said. \u201cThe Working Families Tax Cut Act worked really well. … The big thing is, obviously, the Democrats don\u2019t want the economy to be successful, which is decently sad considering they should be cheering for the American people. But they shut down the government because they want Trump to fail.\u201d<\/p>\n Republicans are pushing for the passage of a \u201ccontinuing resolution,\u201d which would extend current funding levels until Nov. 21. Democrats, meanwhile, want to include an extension of tax credits that help people buy private insurance through the Affordable Care Act. Those credits expire at the end of the year, and without the extension, millions of people who receive them are likely to see steep premium increases<\/a>. Republicans have argued the health care fight should be handled separately, after the government reopens.<\/p>\n For his part, Trump for weeks has largely been focused on issues<\/a> aside from the shutdown and economic concerns, with the exception of deals around his tariffs. Democrats have called on him to become more engaged<\/a> to help end the stalemate.<\/p>\n On Tuesday night, Trump did write on social media that Senate Republicans should use the \u201cnuclear option\u201d to get rid of the filibuster. The drastic move would allow Republicans to reopen the government without needing 60 votes \u2014 and the cooperation of Democrats \u2014 but it was swiftly rejected by Republican leaders<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Last week, Trump\u2019s attention was in Asia, far from the pain of the shutdown, with a big announcement on tariffs<\/a>. Before that, much of his focus was on demolishing the East Wing of the White House to build a $300 million ballroom<\/a> funded by private donors, a project that is ongoing.<\/p>\n And on Thursday, a reporter asked Vice President JD Vance about the loss of SNAP benefits, and whether the administration was working to find a funding solution, as it has tried to do to pay troops and law enforcement during the shutdown.<\/p>\n Vance avoided answering whether there would be a push around SNAP, instead blaming Democrats.<\/p>\n \u201cThe unfortunate reality \u2014 and we\u2019re starting to see this with our aviation industry \u2014 we\u2019re going to find out the hard way with SNAP benefits, the American people are already suffering, and the suffering is going to get a lot worse,\u201d Vance said.<\/p>\n Some relief could be coming \u2014 but if it does, it\u2019s over the Trump administration\u2019s objections. On Friday, a federal judge ordered<\/a> the administration to distribute money to SNAP recipients \u201cas soon as possible\u201d by tapping a contingency fund. Another federal judge in a separate case also said it was unlawful for the administration not to pay out the benefits.<\/p>\n The White House has argued that it cannot use those funds and is seeking further clarification from the courts.<\/p>\n Several recent public polls have pointed to Trump having an economic problem, one that is quickly turning into a political one for Republicans trying to maintain slim majorities in the House and Senate headed into the 2026 midterms \u2014 an election where Republicans will have to energize Trump voters without his presence on the ballot.<\/p>\n The new NBC News poll found Republicans have just a 1-point advantage over Democrats on \u201cdealing with the economy,\u201d a margin that has consistently been 15-20 points in favor of Republicans going back to 2018.<\/p>\n Chuck Rocha, a Democratic strategist who advised freshman Sen. Ruben Gallego\u2019s winning campaign in Arizona last year, said that economic hardship gives his party\u2019s candidates an opening to win key segments of the electorate \u2014 including the young men who helped Trump take back the White House \u2014 if they focus on making the argument that their policies are better than the president\u2019s.<\/p>\n \u201cRight now, people\u2019s prices are going up. Their prices are going up for the utility bills, going up for lots of things in their life, because of the tariffs,\u201d Rocha said. \u201cIf you show up and start talking to folks about actually trying to provide for their family, there\u2019s going to be a lot of men who right now feel a little regret because they were promised lower prices and they\u2019re not getting them.\u201d<\/p>\n Moreno said he was not worried \u201cabout the politics\u201d of the shutdown, noting that he has pledged to serve no more than two Senate terms and, as a native of Colombia, is constitutionally ineligible to be president. But he said Republicans need to better articulate their message: that they hold Democrats responsible for the shutdown and its economic ramifications.<\/p>\n He specifically alluded to recent remarks from House Minority Whip Katherine Clark, D-Mass., who in an interview with Fox News acknowledged that families would \u201csuffer\u201d<\/a> because of the shutdown but emphasized that Democrats needed to exert their political \u201cleverage\u201d to address health care costs.<\/p>\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/2243878964-gcatk5.jpg\")
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