Trump Misleadingly Claims He 'Lifted' 2.4 Million Americans off Food Stamps in State of the Union

In his 2026 State of the Union, Trump claimed 'We have lifted 2.4 million Americans, a record, off of food stamps.' This claim is deeply misleading. The 2.4 million figure refers to Americans who lost access to SNAP benefits (food stamps) following the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, not people who voluntarily left the program because they could afford to. A Congressional Budget Office analysis from August 2025 found that approximately 2.4 million Americans would lose access to SNAP because of the law's spending cuts to safety-net programs, meaning these people were stripped of benefits, not 'lifted' out of need.

"We have lifted 2.4 million Americans — a record — off of food stamps." — State of the Union address to joint session of Congress, February 24, 2026