Donald Trump: The First President in History to Use Food as a Weapon

Episode Transcript
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SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
I just had a complete meltdown.
I was reading the script that Ihad just written, and as I was
reading it, I just began to likeball.
But it hit differently.
Because that's home.
My breath.

(00:22):
I thought I wasn't gonna crythis episode.
But it's home, you know.
Um, I you know, everythingthat's going on in New York has
really hit home.
It's personal for me, and I'mI'm raging.
I'm raging on the inside, and Ithink it just needed an outlet.
Um, don't fuck with my hometown,man.

(00:43):
Don't don't do it.
I'm Christy Chanel.
And this is sassy politics.
It it feels like the floor ismoving under our feet.
Rights are being rolled back,fear is being weaponized, people

(01:08):
shrug, change the channel, checkoff their protest box, and they
call it a day.
I want you to know, I'm not hereto fear monger.
That is the last thing I want todo.
But I am here to shake youawake.
Because this is no longertheoretical.

(01:31):
It's not what if.
It's happening now.
If we don't prepare, if we don'tshow up for each other, the
people who engineered this, allof this chaos, they win.
Period.
I'm gonna try to get throughthis part of the script again

(01:51):
without crying.
Um, and uh, so let's see how Ido.
I I hope I got it all out thefirst time.
Now I'm actually recording it.
So I grew up in New Jersey andspent a lot of time in New York.
We were like 45 minutes from NewYork.
I I even skipped school with abunch of my friends and we

(02:13):
jumped on the train.
It was my first time being on atrain as a, I guess I was 17 at
the time, um, with my friends.
And we went there and we werecomplete idiots with with some
of our decisions, but I have noregrets.
I have no regrets.
Here I am all these years later,remembering it with fondness.

(02:36):
We spent a day in New York andit was just a freedom.
There was a freedom about it,you know?
And uh, yeah.
I I don't know if I would trustmy kids to do that these days,
but back then, it was cool.
It was really, really cool.

(02:56):
I love New York, and I love NewJersey.
To me, they're one and the same.
Yes, they're different, but justit's just hard to explain.
They're very close together.
The NFLs even play in NewJersey, even though it's the New
York Giants.
They play in New Jersey, likewe're very closely tied

(03:18):
together.
There are some differences,don't get me wrong, but you mess
with one of them, and I feel theexact same way.
I saw my first Broadway showthere, and even now, just saying
it, I can remember the lightsand the smell and the honking of
the horns and the and the peopletrying to clean the windshield

(03:41):
uh and wanting a tip.
Like all of those things are soNew York.
Women in their sneakers becausethey walk everywhere, but yet
they have this business attireon.
That's what it was like growingup and seeing all of that.
It was the hustle and bustle ofNew York, it was the career
woman.
It was sex in the city, it wasall of it.

(04:04):
And just saying it brings up therush of color, the rush of
sound, and the rush of life.
That melting pot of people justtrying to make it.
Because as the song goes, if youcan make it there, you can make
it anywhere.

(04:25):
And it's about having a dream,being free.
All of those things cometogether for New York City.
So when I saw videos of streetvendors being harassed by ice,

(04:46):
dragged, shouted at, terrified,it stirred something in me I
knew was there, but it hitdifferently.
Because that's home.
That's home.
My best friend Lori still livesin New Jersey.

(05:10):
She's in the city all the time.
I see con she's she loves totake pictures, so I see
beautiful pictures that shetakes all the time.
And when and when I see thishitting so close to home, I
quietly rage.
That's why this episode is here.
Because normally you'd get abreakdown.

(05:33):
Headlines, court dates,political analysis.
But this one, this one'spersonal.
Today we're drawing a line fromthen to now.
We're uncovering what's reallyhappening behind the scenes, how
we got here, and mostimportantly, what can we do

(05:57):
right now?
If you think this is just aboutpolitics, you're missing the
point.
Completely missing the point.
I just have a feeling if you'rehere on my channel or in my
podcast listening, you get it.
Right?
You get it.

(06:17):
That's why you're here.
You get it.
But there are some new peoplehere.
And maybe you don't.
And I'm here to help youunderstand just a little bit
more than you did yesterday.
And if I've done that, then Iknow I'm doing my job.
And this is a job that I chooseto have.
Nobody's paying me to do this.

(06:39):
I do this because I love it.
I do this because it'simportant.
And I do this because I'm hereto serve you.
Decades ago, the rights many ofus take for granted were won by
people who stayed long after thecameras packed up.
Progress came from consistency,not convenience.

(07:02):
Fast forward to today, thoserights are being unraveled.
Each rollback feels small untilyou step back and see the
pattern.
Even the White House East Wing.
Yes, the people's house is beingdemolished.

(07:22):
Actually, it has.
By the time of this beingedited, it's it's gone.
I've seen pictures.
It's gone.
And it's gone because of a90,000 square foot ballroom.
The problem is, well, there's athere's a lot of problems with
this actually, but the biggestproblem I have is it

(07:43):
construction moved forwardbefore oversight agencies could
even finish the review.
Because those agencies call it acoincidence if you'd like, but
their arms were behind theirback and they were tied and they
couldn't do anything because ofthe shutdown.
It's not just about bricks andpermits, it's symbolic.

(08:05):
The foundation is literallybeing torn down while the roof
still claims to protect us.
I've worked on historic sites,historic buildings.
The Statler Building in downtownDallas was a property that I had
the pleasure of being a part ofthe renovations.

(08:26):
It was um a roofing project.
And and I saw all of the waysthat we needed to make sure that
this historic building wasrespected.
The community loves thisbuilding, it needed to be

(08:49):
respected properly, and thereare people and organizations in
place to make sure that thathappens.
So that's why I was reallysurprised.
I was like, so the Statlerbuilding has more red tape, so
to speak, than the White House.
A living, breathing museum.

(09:13):
What did I miss?
Like, what did I miss?
To me, this represents somethingmuch deeper.
Much deeper.
Why did somebody feel like theycould just do that?
What's really happening?
Let's talk about what's reallygoing on.

(09:34):
The federal shutdown startedOctober 1st, 2025, and today
marks day 25.
States are warning that NovemberSnap benefits won't be issued.
If Congress doesn't act byOctober 27th, the day this

(09:56):
episode is being released.
On October 27th, if you'relistening to this and the
government hasn't opened backup, children, families will be
without SNAP benefits for themonth of November.
Yeah, that includesThanksgiving.
I hope that you reallyunderstand the depth of that.

(10:19):
There are people that don't eveneat dinner.
Like parents are going to bedearly so that they don't have to
feel the rumblings in theirstomach, so that their kids and
their family will eat.
They've chosen a meal that theyare eating in the daytime just
so they can make it throughwork.

(10:40):
I've seen it.
I've heard about it.
And these families with the snapbenefits are having to do this.
You take those benefits away,and you have just cut off
somebody's fucking arm.
I am not kidding.
You they they lump everybodytogether like these lazy

(11:02):
Americans.
These lazy people get a job.
They have jobs.
They have jobs.
How can you be so cruel?
Are you serious?
Do a little research, man.
Families counting onThanksgiving groceries are
starting to empty EBT balances.

(11:25):
And the USDA says it won't usecontingency funds.
It won't use contingency funds.
Do you know what that means?
Contingency means a savingsaccount.
Money that's set aside that islike a safety net.
They won't use their securityfunds, their safety net, their

(11:48):
contingency funds.
Wow.
Food banks across the country,from New York to North Texas,
are bracing for a surge.
Volunteers can't replace federalinfrastructure.
This isn't a hiccup.
It's a crisis.

(12:09):
In New York City's Chinatown,ICE conducted a major raid on
Canal Street.
Dozens of agents, vendorsrunning, by standards crying.
This is the part that actuallymade me have a breakdown
earlier.
Four U.S.
citizens were detained nearly 24hours and released without

(12:30):
charges.
I would like for people toreflect back when they said that
this is to get the criminals outof the United States.
They detained four U.S.
citizens for nearly 24 hours andthey were released without

(12:51):
charges.
That doesn't sound likecriminals to me.
The New York Attorney Generaleven launched a public portal
for people to upload footagebecause you need to be
documenting this.
You've heard of war crimesbefore, right?

(13:13):
Where people think they'reprotected.
And they go and they do theseheinous acts against civilians
and think, I'm protected.
Didn't it happen in anothercountry?
I think it did.
I don't even think I have to sayit for you to know what and
where I'm talking about.
So I want you to feel at least asmall bit of comfort to know

(13:41):
there will be justice.
It may not be right away.
We're gonna have to go through alot of hardships to get there,
but there will be justice.
And that's why they need todocument everything.
These portals are important.
Document, document, document.

(14:01):
If you leave this episode withanything, it's to document
everything you see.
These actions aren't isolated,they're synchronized.
Take away food assistance, itcreates panic.
Escalate enforcement, it createsfear.
Combine them together, and youcontrol behavior.

(14:26):
It's all about control.
Everything is calculated.
Start to put the piecestogether.
This hits hardest wherestability is already fragile.
Single moms like myself,caregivers, working class
families, immigrants, theelderly.

(14:49):
These are the people who stretcha dollar until it begs for
mercy.
And now even that dollar isbeing taken away.
For women, this isn't abstract.
Food insecurity, child carecosts, health care gaps, they
all landed our feet first.

(15:12):
And while the privileged call itpolitics, others are quietly
deciding which meal they canskip.
I wasn't in New York when thishappened, but watching it from
afar felt like watching someonebreak into my childhood home.
It's that visceral.

(15:32):
That personal.
And I know I'm not the only onefeeling it.
I have a stepdad that lives inPortland.
I feel it every time I see it.
Okay.
Let's channel all of thatemotion into action.
All right?

(15:53):
Action one.
Support food banks beforeNovember 1st.
Go to feedingamerica.org to findyour local food bank.
Call 211 or visit 211.org foremergency food help or volunteer
information.
If you're in North Texas, theNorth Texas Food Bank needs

(16:15):
donations and volunteers rightnow.
Don't wait for the holidaysurge.
The need spikes beforeThanksgiving and stays high
after it.
Action two, document and stayinformed.
We talked about it earlier inthe episode.
New Yorkers use the AG's portalto report ICE activity safely.

(16:38):
Everywhere else, recordresponsibly and connect with
legal aid coalitions.
Action three, join the chain.
We already have the structure.
I just need the people.
Logistic leads, mutual aidcaptains, and regional
connectors.
If you feel that tug in yourgut, that's your cue.

(17:01):
Step in.
There is a role waiting for you.
Listen, help doesn't live inhashtags.
It lives in neighbors.
In grocery trunks filled forstrangers, in three hours spent
sorting cans when nobody'sfilming.
The shutdown began October 1st.

(17:24):
Today is October 25th.
We're still frozen in politicaltheater.
While millions wonder if they'lleat next week.
This is a red alert.
If nothing changes by October27th, today, the day that you're
listening to this episode, Snaploads vanish.

(17:44):
That's not politics.
That's hunger.
In New York, people took to thestreets.
Four U.S.
citizens detained and releasedwithout charges after an ice
raid that never should havehappened.
Their courage matters because itshows us what standing up looks

(18:06):
like.
I've never been prouder.
I'm proud at all the protests.
I'm proud at everybody that'sstanding outside the ICE
detention centers, holding theirground against violence.
These motherfuckers can't evenpass a physical fitness test.
Seriously, and they're givenmilitary grade equipment.

(18:29):
So here's what I need from youtonight.
If you can give money, give.
If you can't give money, givetime.
If you can't give time, sharethis message.
Program 211 into your phone.
Share it with three people whomight need it.
If you're in North Texas, NTFBneeds you.

(18:52):
If you're in New York City,stand with your neighbors and
document what's happening.
Because we don't wait for thecameras.
We don't wait for permission tobe decent.
We show up before Thanksgiving,after Thanksgiving, and on
random Wednesdays when nobodyelse does.
I'm Christy Chanel.
I need you.

(19:14):
And I'm in this with you.
I have more hope today becauseyou're here listening.
Now let's turn words intoaction.

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Donald Trump: The First President in History to Use Food as a Weapon

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