Linda Preast relies on Meals on Wheels since she had a stroke two years ago. Now the 56-year-old Georgia resident who voted for Trump is surprised that he has proposed slashing funding for the program. CBS News’ Michelle Miller asked Preast if she was surprised?
“Yeah. Because he was told ― I was under the influence that he was going to help us.”
(I think you mean, ‘under the FALSE impression’…)
White House Budget Director Mick Mulvaney has attacked the service, saying programs like Meals on Wheels are
“just not showing any results… We can’t do that anymore. We can’t spend money on programs just because they sound good. And Meals on Wheels sounds great.”
Jenny Bertolette, VP of communications for Meals on Wheels America, told the Huffington Post that the program is already struggling to meet the needs of the hungry,
“The scary thing about that is that funding is already not keeping up with pace. There are already demands that we can’t meet. There is already a waitlist crisis… If this budget was enacted, it would obviously just make matters so much worse.”
The statements followed the Trump administration’s recent budget proposal, which would give $54 billion to the military while decimating funding for federal programs including the Environmental Protection Agency, the State Department and the Education Department.
Preast was asked what she would say to Trump to convince him not to cut the program?
“What if it was your momma?”
Since Mulvaney’s comments last week, Meals on Wheels has seen a 500% increase in volunteers and a 50 percent increase in online donations. If you want to give, you can go here.
(via Huffington Post)