Helena Foulkes Claims She Will Stand Up to Trump – Yet She Can’t Name A Single Way He’s Hurting Rhode Island

Asked Repeatedly to Name What Trump Has Taken From Rhode Island, Foulkes Pivoted to Attacking Governor McKee – Apparently Not Realizing Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill Ripped SNAP Benefits From Thousands of Rhode Island Families.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — On WPRO’s Tara Granahan show this morning, Helena Foulkes was asked – more than once – to name one thing President Trump has cut or taken from Rhode Island under his “Big Beautiful Bill.” She couldn’t name a single one.

Here’s what Foulkes apparently doesn’t know: Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill is already hitting Rhode Island – stripping Medicaid coverage from over 30,000 Rhode Islanders, cutting 2,300 households off SNAP, and reducing food assistance for hundreds more. It also let the enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits expire, costing Rhode Island families roughly $60 million in higher health insurance premiums as of January 1 – and that’s after Trump’s administration froze SNAP benefits last fall, leaving thousands of Rhode Island families scrambling to put food on the table.

“Helena Foulkes says she’ll stand up to Donald Trump, but she doesn’t even know where to start to explain the real harm he has caused to working Rhode Islanders,” said McKee campaign spokeswoman Sophie Mestas. “It’s no surprise: this is the same person who has given to Trump’s biggest enablers and donated to PACs who support anti-abortion causes and MAGA Republicans – including Trump’s Victory Fund. Meanwhile, as Trump rips food assistance and healthcare away from thousands of Rhode Island families, Governor McKee is fighting back by protecting SNAP and Medicaid, shoring up our hospitals, and making the wealthiest pay their fair share.”

Foulkes’ comments follow a troubling pattern of supporting MAGA Republicans in Washington. As a top executive at CVS, Foulkes contributed to the company’s PAC while it was the single largest corporate donor in 2017 to Donald Trump’s political arm, funnelling $35,000 to Trump Victory. Those contributions were made after Foulkes’ personal donations to Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell.

While Foulkes can’t be bothered to pay attention to how Trump’s cuts are hurting working Rhode Islanders, Governor McKee just signed a 2027 budget that fights back – investing roughly $20 million to help Rhode Islanders keep their Medicaid and SNAP benefits, creating a first-of-its-kind state premium-assistance program that puts $19 million toward the expired ACA subsidies to protect coverage for roughly 20,000 Rhode Islanders, directing $26 million to Rhode Island hospitals as Trump’s cuts drive up the number of uninsured patients, and asking the wealthiest Rhode Islanders to pay their fair share through a phased-in millionaire’s tax to shield the state from Trump’s reckless cuts.