A few hours before tonight’s Saturday evening liveWeekend Update co-anchor Michael Che is already making headlines with a very personal take on today’s end of the federal government’s food stamp program.
“This instant gel is really fucked up,” Che wrote online Saturday of the Donald Trump administration’s widely used Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program shutdown during the nearly month-long government shutdown.
A fairly rare presence on social networks, a direct Che targeted “racist videos celebrating families (mostly black) unable to do their shopping”. Without a hint of humor about the double standard imposed on minorities and the less fortunate, the comedian added, “This country is built on greedy motherfuckers who take shortcuts and manipulate the system for their benefit, but for some reason when poor people find a way to turn a dime into a dime, they are judged more harshly, especially black people.”
In a very personal way, Che went on to tell his 751,000 followers how programs like SNAP, 61, helped him and his family before fame and fortune struck late at night.
“I grew up with free cheese and powdered milk and waiting for your friends to leave the store so I wouldn’t have to pay with stamps…this shit ain’t as glamorous as it sounds. I promise.”
The suspension of SNAP benefits to more than 42 million Americans by the Trump gang on November 1 proved to be a political lightning rod during this rather quiet shutdown. In some of the ugliest examples of the MAGA mentality, the Department of Agriculture determined in October that it could not use billions in contingency funds long set aside for SNAP for legal reasons.
The move prompted a series of legal challenges from states, cities and others amid an expected increase in food banks.
Two federal judges ruled this week that the administration must dip into the $6 billion available. However, although Trump posted Friday evening that it would be “his honor to provide the funding, just as I did for military and law enforcement pay,” the administration is demanding that the courts provide guidance on how to pay — a process that will still delay SNAP recipients for weeks at best.
With Che joined by Colin Jost behind the Weekend Update desk, the fourth episode of SNL’section 51st The season airs tonight on NBC with Miles Teller as host and Brandi Carlie as musical guest.
