Signing Up Seniors for Food Stamps Is Called 'Buying Votes' for Obama, Says Fox News Host
The Pennsylvania chapter of powerful senior lobby group AARP recently launched a campaign to sign up more seniors for food stamps, but Fox Business host Stuart Varney has dismissed it as an effort to "buy votes" to benefit President Barack Obama.
A recent report in the Tribune-Democrat highlighted that the AARP chapter launched the effort to get more people signed up for food assistance after they found that some "350,000 seniors in Pennsylvania do not always have enough money to buy food."
Many of them, however, do not like the idea of food stamps according to state director of AARP, Bill Johnston-Walsh.
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"It's an issue in the rural areas. It's an issue across the board," said Johnston-Walsh.
One senior citizen, Vivian Adams, interviewed in the report said even if she qualified for the benefit she won't be applying for food stamps.
"I'd always be afraid that I was taking something that someone else needed more," Adams said.
In an appearance on Fox & Friends on Tuesday, Varney, however, dismissed the effort in a biting sentence. "It's called buying votes," he said.
"It's happening in Pennsylvania, Georgia, a couple of other states," he added.
"What about pride?" asked Fox & Friends host Brian Kilmeade. "What about pride in not getting food stamps because they don't need them?"
And that's when Varney elaborated on the Obama connection.
"The AARP, huge support[er]s of President Obama, politically and financially, big supporters of Obamacare," Varney explained. "And now they're out there signing people up for food stamps. This is part of the buy-the-vote campaign. They're really shifting America, changing what America really is," he said
"But if they're hungry they should get it, and if they qualify," co-host Steve Doocy pointed out.
"Yeah, should they?" Varney grimaced. "Should people be going out there, 'Give it to me! Give it to me now!' You want that? Is that America?"
"They are acting on behalf of the president and, I repeat, I think it's buying votes with taxpayer money," he said.
