Trump tried to slash aid for poor Americans—he may succeed if elected

Experts warn that Trump’s return could mean drastic cuts to public assistance programs from Medicaid to food assistance, while low-income voters want Harris to offer more support.

By Sara Herschander, for Capital & Main

When Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was last in office, his administration repeatedly attempted to gut the country’s social safety net, proposing cuts to nutrition assistance, Medicaid, and other government programs that one in four Americans rely on.

If he wins in November, experts say it’s likely that Trump would once again target those programs, spelling financial peril for the most vulnerable Americans.

With about two weeks until the election, Kathleen Hurd has already cast her absentee ballot in Michigan for the Democratic candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris, who she hopes will do more to directly address the needs of Americans living in poverty. Hurd, 64, scrapes by on $1,060 in monthly Social Security Disability Insurance benefits and $500 in food stamps—now called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP—to feed her grandchildren.

If Trump wins, she fears what it could mean for families like hers who already struggle to make it to the end of the month on Social Security and other antipoverty benefits.

“If he cuts it out, I don’t know what we’re going to do,” said Hurd, who noted that even a slight reduction could spell devastation for families living on the edge. “That’s going to be really, really very difficult.”