{"id":1030102,"date":"2024-03-14T17:50:30","date_gmt":"2024-03-14T17:50:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/?p=1030102"},"modified":"2024-05-10T19:54:22","modified_gmt":"2024-05-10T19:54:22","slug":"reality-check-trump-said-he-wants-to-gut-social-security-and-medicare-after-pushing-cuts-every-year-he-was-in-office","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/reality-check-trump-said-he-wants-to-gut-social-security-and-medicare-after-pushing-cuts-every-year-he-was-in-office\/","title":{"rendered":"REALITY CHECK: Trump Said He Wants to Gut Social Security and Medicare After Pushing Cuts Every Year He Was in Office"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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In response to Donald Trump shamelessly <\/em>trying<\/em><\/a> to deflect from <\/em>his own words<\/em><\/a> and his record of coming after Social Security and Medicare, <\/em>DNC Rapid Response Director Alex Floyd released the following statement: <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen Donald Trump said \u2018there is a lot you can do\u2019 to cut Social Security and Medicare, the American people heard him loud and clear. His record speaks for itself: Trump pushed cuts to these critical hard-earned benefits for our seniors every single year he was in office, and now he\u2019s running on the same extreme and unpopular MAGA agenda that is threatening the pocketbooks of millions of Americans. If Trump gets the chance, he\u2019ll gut Social Security and Medicare \u2013 and that\u2019s why voters will once again reject him this November.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Donald Trump said THIS WEEK that \u201cthere is a lot you can do\u201d to cut Social Security and Medicare \u2013 programs that millions of American families rely on.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joe Kernen, CNBC<\/a>: \u201cHave you changed your outlook on how to handle entitlements, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump: \u201cSo first of all, there is a lot you can do in terms of entitlements, in terms of cutting.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vox<\/a>: \u201cTrump just opened the door to Social Security cuts. Take him seriously.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

CNN<\/a>: \u201cTrump suggests he\u2019s open to cuts to Medicare and Social Security<\/strong> after attacking primary rivals over the issue\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NBC News<\/a>: \u201cTrump floats ‘cutting’ retirement spending, drawing quick pushback from Biden\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Forbes<\/a>: \u201cTrump Floats \u2018Cutting\u2019 Spending On Entitlements Like Social Security And Medicare\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rolling Stone<\/a>: \u201cTrump Floats Cuts to Social Security and Medicare\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump owns his extreme record of proposing cuts to Medicare and Social Security programs in EVERY SINGLE ONE of his budgets.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Washington Post<\/a>: \u201cHis avowed stance, however, is at odds with Trump\u2019s own record as president: Each of his White House budget proposals included cuts to Social Security and Medicare programs.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vox<\/a>: \u201cTrump said he wouldn\u2019t cut Medicaid, Social Security, and Medicare. His 2020 budget cuts all 3.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump\u2019s FY18<\/a>, FY19<\/a>, FY20<\/a>, and FY21<\/a> budgets each proposed billions of dollars in cuts to Social Security programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2019<\/a> and 2020<\/a>: Trump proposed budgets that included hundreds of billions of dollars in cuts to Medicare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump has promised to try to cut Social Security and Medicare in a second term in office \u2013 including threatening the programs\u2019 financial standing by promising to permanently eliminate the taxes that fund both programs.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

National Review<\/a>: \u201cSpeaking with CNBC at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Trump was asked whether he would cut entitlements at some point. \u2018Will entitlements ever be on your plate?\u2019 asked interviewer Joe Kernen. \u2018At some point they will be,\u2019 Trump responded. \u2018At the right time, we will take a look at that. You know, that\u2019s the easiest of all things [to cut].\u2019\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

CNN<\/a>: \u201cTrump now says he’s open to entitlement cuts, including Medicare\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mediaite<\/a>: \u201cDuring a Fox News town hall, President Donald Trump promised to cut entitlements like Medicare and Social Security if he were to win a second term.<\/strong> \u2026 \u2018But if you don\u2019t cut something in entitlements, you will never really deal with the debt,\u2019 town hall co-moderator Martha MacCallum interjected, alluding to social safety programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. \u2018Oh, we\u2019ll be cutting,\u2019 Trump rushed to confirm.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Washington Post<\/a>: \u201cPresident Trump pledged on Saturday to pursue a permanent cut to the payroll taxes that fund Social Security and Medicare<\/strong> if he wins reelection in November, a hard-to-accomplish political gambit that some experts see as a major headache for the future of the country\u2019s entitlement programs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump<\/a>: \u201cIf we win \u2026 the payroll tax will be rescinded.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

CNN<\/a>: \u201cEliminating the payroll tax could deplete the Social Security trust fund within three years if there\u2019s no alternative source of revenue, according to the agency\u2019s chief actuary.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Associated Press<\/a>: \u201cTrump, in effect, has proposed a dramatic restructuring of how Social Security is financed by not relying on the payroll tax as a dedicated source, but instead by tapping the general fund. \u2026 The risk is that the loss of a dedicated funding source could destabilize an anti-poverty program that provides payments to roughly 65 million Americans. It also could force people to cut back on the spending that drives growth so they can save for their own retirement and health care needs if they believe the government backstop is in jeopardy. \u2026 It is highly unlikely that economic growth would be enough to offset the loss of the payroll tax. Indeed, Trump suggested that his 2017 income tax cuts would propel economic growth as high as 6% annually. That never happened.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump has made calls to privatize Social Security and even praised Republicans as they pushed plans to end Medicare as we know it.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

CNN<\/a>: \u201cTrump previously backed policies on Social Security for which he\u2019s now attacking DeSantis, calling the program a \u2018Ponzi scheme\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFormer President Donald Trump once backed raising the retirement age to 70 and called for privatizing Social Security which he called a \u2018Ponzi scheme\u2019<\/strong> \u2013 two positions he has hammered Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for supporting as a former member of Congress and congressional candidate. \u2026 but a CNN KFile review found Trump himself also once praised Ryan on Medicare, along with the 2012 presidential nominee Mitt Romney,<\/strong> without praising their specific policy proposal, which called for similar changes to Ryan\u2019s plan.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump and MAGA Republicans\u2019 plan to gut Social Security and Medicare is highly unpopular with Americans across the political spectrum. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fox News<\/a>: \u201cFox News Poll: 71% choose funding Social Security, Medicare over budget cuts\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sahil Kapur, NBC News<\/a>: \u201cDigging deeper into this @FoxNews finding. Support for funding entitlements like Social Security & Medicare over reducing deficits is overwhelming with the GOP base:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Republicans 59-38%<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump voters 59-37%<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conservatives 60-36%<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rural voters 70-26%<\/p>\n\n\n\n

White non-college voters 73%-24%\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CNN<\/a>: \u201cNearly 67 million Americans have received monthly Social Security benefits this year, and more than 66 million people are enrolled in Medicare. Polling shows little support for major changes to the programs themselves<\/strong> to help shore up their finances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA March CNN\/SSRS poll of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, for instance, found that 59% said it was \u2018essential\u2019 that the GOP nominee for president \u2018pledges to maintain Social Security and Medicare as they are.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Associated Press<\/a>: \u201cMost oppose Social Security, Medicare cuts: AP-NORC poll\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Axios<\/a>: \u201cNearly 9 in 10 Americans say they oppose reducing spending on Social Security or Medicare,<\/strong> according to new polling from our Axios-Ipsos Two Americas Index.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In response to Donald Trump shamelessly trying to deflect from his own words and his record of coming after Social Security and Medicare, DNC Rapid Response Director Alex Floyd released the following statement:  \u201cWhen Donald Trump said \u2018there is a lot you can do\u2019 to cut Social Security and Medicare, the American people heard him […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":263,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1030102","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nREALITY CHECK: Trump Said He Wants to Gut Social Security and Medicare After Pushing Cuts Every Year He Was in Office - Democrats<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/reality-check-trump-said-he-wants-to-gut-social-security-and-medicare-after-pushing-cuts-every-year-he-was-in-office\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Democrats\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-03-14T17:50:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-05-10T19:54:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/War-Room-Master-Image.png?w=1024\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Claire DePree\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Claire DePree\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/reality-check-trump-said-he-wants-to-gut-social-security-and-medicare-after-pushing-cuts-every-year-he-was-in-office\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/reality-check-trump-said-he-wants-to-gut-social-security-and-medicare-after-pushing-cuts-every-year-he-was-in-office\/\",\"name\":\"REALITY CHECK: Trump Said He Wants to Gut Social Security and Medicare After Pushing Cuts Every Year He Was in Office - 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