Michael Fishman, the 44-year-old actor, writer, producer, and director who started playing the character of DJ Connor on the 1980s sitcom Roseanne at just 6 years old, took to his social media recently to counter the narrative being pushed by conservative talking heads like Matt Walsh about the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
Drawing on his own on-screen and real life experiences, Fishman called for compassion instead of judgment.
Fishman captioned his posts:
"If we are to be a great nation, we must be steadfast in our commitment in basic needs for children and families."
The actor noted that for most of Roseanne's original TV run, from 1988-1997, working class family the Connors struggled financially. Living paycheck to paycheck with one bad event separating them from extreme hardship, they were exactly the kind of family that benefited from SNAP after one or both parents lose their job or become unable to work due to injury or illness.
You can watch Fishman's comments here:
Fishman said:
"I grew up playing DJ on 'Roseanne.' It’s a struggling working-class family, the exact kind of people who would be on SNAP."
He added:
"And off set, I went to a public school in a suburban neighborhood. And my best friend came from a single-mother household and lived in a trailer park."
In his time away from the camera, Fishman was a successful baseball player turned coach from youth sports to the professional leagues. He also worked as a teacher, scuba instructor, and rescue diver.
Fishman shared:
"When I was a rescue diver, I was shocked that the EMTs that I knew were on SNAP..."
"When I worked in education, a lot of my students survived on SNAP..."
Fishman added that a lot of education support staff and daycare providers also rely on SNAP for food security.
He then added:
"...approximately 22,000 active duty military families, 213,000 National Guard and Reserve members, and 1.1 million veterans rely on SNAP benefits."
A few people in the comments chose to parrot the White House's talking points about why the administration—namely the Department of Agriculture, which has an emergency fund to continue SNAP during government shutdowns—of MAGA Republican President Donald Trump chose to not fund SNAP benefits.
The last time Trump and a Republican controlled Congress shuttered the government to force Democrats to support unpopular budget items, December 2018, SNAP benefits were issued by the USDA.
Most trotted out the false claims of widespread abuse that Republicans have used as an excuse to cut programs for the poor, while giving handouts to the rich, for decades.
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But they were quickly fact checked.
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Some pointed out that there are people in the MAGA GOP that actively oppose feeding children.
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In addition to not funding SNAP during the Republican government shutdown, the GOP has fought against free school lunches for all children.
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People also pointed there's a far more costly abuse happening that Republicans fully support.
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Others just appreciated Fishman's call for empathy and understanding.
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A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to fully fund SNAP benefits during the Republican government shutdown.
Several states moved to use their own funds to adhere to the judges order. However, since SNAP is being withheld to coerce Democrats to comply with Republican demands, the Trump administration ordered states to stop.
Trump's USDA demanded states “immediately undo” any steps taken to send full November payments to SNAP recipients or there would be financial consequences for their state.
The White House appealed the ruling, but lost again in a federal appeals court. So the Trump team pushed the matter before the United States Supreme Court where a 48-hour stay on the ruling was issued.
Late Sunday, the Senate passed a bill that moves the Republican government shutdown closer to ending.
