In a 1976 Fort Lauderdale rally, President Ronald Reagan used racially coded rhetoric to undermine Food Stamps, as he had done in many places in the South. Among other racist untruths, he described white people as workers struggling to afford hamburger meat on meager salaries, yet painted Food Stamp participants as “strapping young buck[s]” who buy luxury items, such as a T-bone steaks, on the taxpayer’s dime.
Reagan’s racist attacks on Food Stamps are believed to have ultimately culminated in significant cutbacks to the program 20 years after he left office.