President Donald Trump is apparently closing liquor stores and banning weed after November 1, various unverified profiles have claimed across social media platforms. These claims come amid the government shutdown with reports of food stamps stopping from the same date.
Many profiles on Facebook, X, and even Threads echoed the same sentence - “Trump Said He Closing ALL Liquor Stores &' Banning Weed After Nov 1st.”
Will Donald Trump close down liquor stores?
No, there has been no government announcement about any plans to shut down liquor stores, or ban weed from November 1.
These claims seem to have begun yesterday, and have only gained traction since. However, they appear to be fake and for now, there is nothing which corroborates these online claims.
{{/usCountry}}These claims seem to have begun yesterday, and have only gained traction since. However, they appear to be fake and for now, there is nothing which corroborates these online claims.
{{/usCountry}}On Facebook, the bizarre claim drew reactions as well. A person sharing the post wrote, “Well let me gone ahead and hit up the liquor store.” Another person said, “Close a liquor store down and see wtf happen Donald…”. Yet another remarked, “This gone hurt me more then the stamps leave that liquor store open.”
Also Read | Fact check: No, Walmart is not closing stores on November 1 amid SNAP benefits running out
Notably, Section 21 of the US Constitution makes it clear that regulating or prohibiting alcoholic beverages is under state jurisdiction. Thus, Trump couldn't anyway announce a nationwide closure of liquor stores, without bringing some Constitutional amendment, which is not possible during a government shutdown.
“Section 2 of the Twenty-First Amendment authorized the states to regulate or prohibit alcoholic beverages within their jurisdictions for legitimate, non-protectionist purposes, such as health or safety,” the US Constitution states.
For weed, it is still illegal under federal law, so technically the President could push for the enforcement of that, but there has been no official communication from the POTUS or the administration to that end.
What to know about food stamps in November?
The US Department of Agriculture has said in a notice on its site that federal food aid will not go out November 1. “Bottom line, the well has run dry,” the USDA notice says. “At this time, there will be no benefits issued November 01. We are approaching an inflection point for Senate Democrats.”
The new USDA notice comes after the Trump govt said it would not tap around $5 billion in contingency funds to keep benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), going into November. The SNAP program helps about 1 in 8 Americans buy groceries.
(With AP inputs)