WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA - NOVEMBER 05: MAGA hats sit on a table during the election night watch party for Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at the Palm Beach County Convention Center on November 05, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Florida. Today, voters cast their ballots to determine whether Republican nominee former President Donald Trump or Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris will become the next President of the United States. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
(Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

‘Sponge off the government’: MAGA Republicans believe American children are undeserving of free lunches

Hey! So this is actually insane!

A Georgia congressman genuinely thinks that children, as in literal children, should work their way through school to pay for their lunches so that American taxpayer dollars can go towards “important” things like mass deportations and fossil fuels.

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The actual, living embodiment of evil, otherwise known as Rich McCormick, represents the wealthiest congressional district in all of Georgia, making him the perfect guy to comment on the free and reduced lunch debate, right? And if you’re wondering why it’s somehow controversial that many children receive free meals at school, trust me, you’re not alone.

In the wake of Donald Trump’s latest executive order to freeze all federal grants and loans, McCormick and a bevy of other House Republicans seem to think that children on free or reduced lunch programs are just taking advantage of the system, and that maybe they should just get to work, those lazy bums!

Speaking to CNN Tuesday, McCormick was asked whether or not he would “ support getting rid of school lunch for vulnerable kids and breakfast and Head Start” and “getting rid of childhood cancer research” by chief investigative correspondent Pamela Brown. In typical MAGA fashion, McCormick went into defense mode, and tried turning the very valid question into a commentary on the younger generations’ work ethic.

“How many people got their start in fast food restaurants when they were kids?” McCormick responded. “Versus just giving a blanket rule that gives all kids lunches in high school, who are capable of going out and actually getting a job and doing something that actually makes them have value.” To add fuel to the absolute word vomit fire, he then added: “When you talk about school lunches, hey, I worked my way through high school. I don’t know about you, but I worked before I was even 13 years old. I was picking berries in the field before child labor laws that precluded that.”

Maybe I’m missing something here, but did an actual elected official just vouch for the reinstatement of…child labor? As one Twitter (X) user wrote: “Oh good, we can just put all the pre-K and kindergarten kids to work to earn their lunch.” Because seriously, what was McCormick’s argument here?

Free school lunch isn’t a privilege

If this isn’t the most ridiculous boomer, “back in my day” BS you’ve ever heard, I don’t know what is. I truly can’t believe we’ve gotten to a point in American politics where the question of whether or not a student should starve instead of eating lunch is, well, a question, and it has absolutely nothing to do with that child’s work ethic. Capitalism has made the MAGA elites blind to any kind of basic, human empathy, as any form of welfare, if you can even call free school lunches that, is looked at as some kind of personal negligence.

It’s also worth noting that 28.6 million students nationwide depend on free/reduced lunch, with his state of Georgia — his state, the one that he vowed to faithfully represent the best interest of his constituents—

consistently ranks among the highest, per the National Center for Education Statistics. For a party that swears they’re “pro-life,” Republicans like McCormick really expose the hypocrisy of MAGA’s rhetoric. Children starving is not a political issue. Wanting a child to thrive in and outside of school, which includes being fed, is the actual definition of pro-life — not banning access to healthy foods.

These people will continue to view the most basic human kindnesses as a threat to Trump’s master plan, all while the man himself cuts taxes for billionaires and corporations. MAGA does not care about your average working American, and congressmen like McCormick sure as hell don’t want to hear your sob story about working three jobs to support your family, living paycheck-to-paycheck while the top 0.01 percent cry and moan about your kids’ applesauce and cheeseburger. We truly live in the worst timeline.


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Amanda Landwehr
Amanda is a Los Angeles-based entertainment writer who lives and breathes Star Wars, Marvel, and all things pop culture. She has worked in digital media since 2021, covering the latest movie/TV releases, casting updates, politics, fan theories, and so, so much more. When she's not rotting away behind her laptop screen, you can typically catch Amanda maxing out her AMC Stubs membership.