The United States Presidential election is around the corner, and Biden and Trump are still voicing their promises in order to win more supporters. Recently, Trump gave a speech that hints at his plans for Social Security.
The former president mentioned that he plans to reform Social Security to be more efficient and harder to exploit. However, his opponents, including Biden, claim that Trump wishes to cut Social Security altogether.
Trump’s Speech On Social Security
Former President Donald Trump Appeared on CNBC’s Squawk Box for an interview. Amongst the questions asked, co-host Joe Kernen inquired about his plans to change Social Security and Medicare.
Trump replied: “There is a lot you can do in terms of entitlement, in terms of cutting and in terms of also the theft and the bad management of entitlements.” Essentially, Trump aims to optimize these entitlement programs once he becomes president. But why?
‘Social Security Is Getting Weaker’
Donald Trump digs deeper into his point by saying, “I know that they’re going to end up weakening Social Security because the country is weak.” What does this mean? Trump believes that these entitlement programs are getting weaker because of the country’s weakness.
He quantifies this observation with what he calls “cumulative inflation.” He suggests that this value is approaching 50 percent, which is a horrible state to be in.
‘The Middle-Class Deserve Better’
The former president went on to explain that the weakening state of the entitlement programs will be felt harder on the middle class. These individuals rely on these benefits, especially as they approach retirement age.
“The middle class largely built this country, and they’ve been treated very, very badly with policy,” Trump says. Failing to optimize Medicare and Social Security is a disservice to the middle class, who are the very people who built America.
Joe Biden Promises To Protect Social Security
On the other hand on the political spectrum, Biden gave his speech on Medicare and Social Security as well. He vowed to protect these entitlement programs and ensure the people have a future to look forward to.
He supported his promises by acknowledging the importance of the middle class. “Working people who built this country pay more into Social Security than millionaires and billionaires do. It’s not fair.”
Biden Accuses Republicans
During his speech, President Biden threw shade at Republicans. He claimed that they wanted to cut social security and prevent the middle class from receiving aid. Naturally, commentators online claimed that the statement was misleading.
But he didn’t stop there! Biden further accused Republicans of wanting to give more tax cuts to the wealthy. Therefore, the rich get richer, and the poor stay poorer. Later, the accusations went to X, formerly known as Twitter.
Biden Exposes Trump On X
Shortly after accusing Trump and other Republicans of wanting to enrich their pockets, Biden went on X. Specifically, the Biden-Harris HQ account posted a video about Trump. It showed the former president saying he wanted to cut Social Security.
The video naturally went viral online as Trump’s opponents used it as proof of why he shouldn’t be elected. However, political commentators were quick to provide an explanation.
‘The Video Is Missing Context’
Fact-checkers and political commentators quickly explained that the clip was missing some context. Even the Trump War Room account responded to the misleading video. “If you losers didn’t cut his answer short, you would know President Trump was talking about cutting waste.”
With the added context, many expected Biden and his supporters to drop or refine their accusations. But even the president commented, “Not on my watch.”
Trump Rejects Claims Of Cutting Social Security
Accusations of Trump wanting to cut Social Security when he becomes president have circulated for several months. However, Trump already addressed the question on Fox News in December 2023.
When asked if he would cut Social Security, Trump said no. “You don’t have to touch Social Security. We have money laying in the ground far greater than anything we can do by hurting senior citizens with their Social Security.”
Trump’s True Plans For Social Security
As seen from his interview in 2023, Trump knows that cutting Social Security will hurt senior citizens. So, what are his plans for social security? Well, the former president has talked about reforming the program instead.
His reformation involves reducing the amount received by higher earners, creating room for people with a lower income. Trump also wants to adjust the retirement age to reflect recent increased life expectancy.
Addressing Mismanagement In Social Security
Trump also mentioned wanting to fix the mismanagement issue plaguing these entitlement programs. For example, social security theft is possible by failing to notify about the death of a beneficiary but continuing to receive their benefits.
Furthermore, the system doesn’t efficiently scrutinize people receiving the money. Essentially, they can conceal facts that affect their eligibility or provide misleading claims to take the money. Trump aims to target these issues.
‘How Often Does That Happen?’
Some netizens have questioned whether Social Security fraud is a big enough problem to warrant a change. A good example of this case was Justin Skiff who created Social Security numbers for ten kids that never existed.
He pleaded guilty to wire fraud, Social Security fraud, and money laundering. It’s worth noting that cases like these don’t happen frequently. But a stitch in time saves nines, and that’s possibly what Trump is after.
Even Republicans Are Scared
Despite all the clarifications, people are still scared of losing their Social Security benefits. More specifically, Republicans are worried that their own party will initiate tax breaks that could weaken entitlement benefits for older Americans.
This detail was revealed by Navigator Research, which found that 61 percent of Republicans had this concern. Nevertheless, Trump continues to state that he’s not interested in cutting people’s benefits.
The Presidential Battle Continues
The presidential election is roughly eight months away, which is plenty of time for each candidate to win the people’s hearts. For now, their focus is on social security, as people look forward to it during retirement.
Joe Biden has accused Trump of wanting to cut this benefit when he becomes president. But fact-checkers have revealed that this line is taken out of context. Trump merely wants to optimize the system and ensure it does its job.
