'Pain is coming': Trump admin warns 'suffering is going to get a lot worse'

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U.S. President Donald Trump and U.S. Vice President JD Vance meet with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy (not pictured) over lunch in the Cabinet Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., October 17, 2025. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

The Trump administration is blaming Democrats for the impending shutdown of SNAP benefits and for its own decision not to use the $5–$6 billion in contingency funds that Democrats say could keep the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program running after Friday.

Vice President JD Vance was asked about the 42 million people who are expected to lose their SNAP benefits this weekend, and why the administration has found ways to pay troops and federal law enforcement but not low-income Americans who rely on the government to help them pay for food.

“Would there be some push, perhaps, in the next 48 hours so Americans don’t go hungry?” the reporter asked.

“Well, here’s the problem,” Vance replied, explaining that in prior shutdowns, “sometimes the president has tried to make the shutdown as painful as possible on the American people.”

“I give the President of the United States great credit and the entire team for trying to make this as painless as possible,” he said, before blaming Democrats.

“The Democrats are acting irresponsibly,” Vance told reporters, claiming that President Trump “doesn’t want the American people to suffer because of it.”

“But look, right now,” he continued, “this government, this administration, we’re like guys running around, you know, with a leak in a dam wall, trying to plug it with bubble gum.”

He challenged Democrats to “just stop this entire charade and reopen the government so that we don’t have to try to make this thing work on a shoestring budget, which is what we’re trying to do.”

Democrats have refused to vote to reopen the government because they are trying to get Republicans to vote to reinstate the Obamacare subsidies that expire at the end of the year. Some Americans are starting to see premiums double and triple.

“The unfortunate reality, and we’re starting to see this with our aviation industry, we’re gonna find out the hard way with SNAP benefits,” Vance said.

“The American people are already suffering, and the suffering is gonna get a lot worse,” he declared. “Not because the President of the United States has failed to make the shutdown painless. He’s tried to do everything that he can to make it as un-painless as possible.”

“The reason that pain is coming, and the reason it’s building is because we’re not passing the clean bill to reopen the government, it’s a very easy thing to do,” he claimed.

Vance went on to blame former President Joe Biden for Obamacare premiums skyrocketing.

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