Pollster Matt Towery said Friday on Fox News that Democrats’ efforts to stir outrage over disruptions to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) are starting to backfire.

As the shutdown drags on, Democrats continue to block a temporary funding deal, putting food aid for more than 40 million Americans at risk. During an appearance on “The Ingraham Angle,” Towery said Democrats miscalculated by trying to weaponize the program’s funding lapse during the shutdown.

“I think the public is just now beginning to hear the information about how many people who are receiving food stamps, who simply are not from this country and came into the country illegally. And I think as more of this information comes out, you’ll see more resentment for that aspect,” Towery told host Laura Ingraham. “Now there’s always been a sympathy among voters for the social safety net. And I just want to add one thing about what the Democrats were doing.”

Towery said Democrats’ plan to use the food stamp disruption to fuel public anger may have the opposite effect of what was intended.

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“I don’t know that these decisions by these judges are helping them because the Democrats really wanted people to not get this assistance and be up in arms and very upset, and cause more turmoil over the next week,” Towery added. “And these judges have stepped in and said, ‘Oh well, we think we’re going to feed you. How we’re going to do it. I don’t quite know.’ I do think that we’re seeing a change in public opinion towards all of these benefits.”

Towery said that a quiet political realignment is underway. Younger Americans entering the workforce, he added, are shifting their attitudes about government programs.

“There’s a slow shift. You won’t see it from the legacy pollsters, and you won’t hear from the legacy media. But the country is beginning to shift. And I think it starts with the youngest of voters, the ones who are having to get out there and make money and find jobs,” Towery said.

Two federal judges ordered the Trump administration on Friday to draw from a contingency fund to keep food aid flowing amid the ongoing shutdown. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said the $5 billion reserve won’t sustain the program for even half of November as Democrats continue to block reopening the government. (RELATED: Trump Instructs Feds To Find Ways To Continue Providing SNAP)

Roughly 42 million Americans depend on SNAP each month, a program that costs about $9.2 billion to operate. While the Department of Agriculture has warned it’s unlawful to repurpose certain funds for SNAP, the administration has already redirected tariff revenue and leftover Pentagon research money to sustain Women, Infant and Children (WIC) and cover military pay.

President Donald Trump said Friday that he directed White House lawyers to seek an immediate court ruling on how to lawfully fund SNAP amid the ongoing shutdown. He accused Democrats of blocking relief for millions of Americans and vowed to act immediately once the courts provide legal clearance.

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