VP's office responds to PA gov who said Vance betrayed Appalachian roots with 'bull---- politics' over SNAP

Shapiro had joined 24 states to successfully sue the USDA over November's SNAP benefit suspension. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania itself was not a plaintiff, as Republican Attorney General David Sunday was not involved.

Shapiro referenced Vance's "Hillbilly Elegy" and the Ohioan's strong bonds with his elders in Breathitt County, Kentucky - the heart of Appalachia - as he lit into what he described as the vice president's "bull---- politics" that belie his Appalachian roots.

"America has a president and a vice president that don't give a damn about all Americans," he added.

She said Shapiro and Democrats supported "Schumer's shutdown" and in doing so "screwed over working-class men and women."

"JD Vance is a total phony… [he] rose to some prominence by writing a book about growing up in Appalachia, where there's a whole lot of people who get SNAP," Shapiro said.

"[Vance] made millions of dollars on the backs of telling their stories, and then he turned his damn back on those very people who he likes to write about and claim as his own," Shapiro said.

He added that Vance professes to be a person of faith, and cited a passage from the book of Deuteronomy that says people should respond to those in need with an open hand.

"You'll excuse me for getting emotional about it, but when I see hungry people in my state who are hungry because of JD Vance's bull---- politics, that makes me angry. And that's why I went to court."

At the presser, Shapiro explained that Arkoosh's office was able to fund SNAP through a state disaster declaration and directing millions of dollars to food banks through the Feeding Pennsylvania program.