Former President Donald Trump vowed he would not “jeopardize” Social Security or Medicare after causing an uproar earlier this week.
President Trump (77): “I would never do anything that would jeopardize or harm Social Security or Medicare.” He spoke in a wide-ranging interview with Breitbart. At Mar-a-Lago. “We’ll have to do it elsewhere. But we’re not going to do anything that will hurt them.”
President Trump continued, “There’s a lot we can do.” “There’s so much cuts and waste in so many other areas, but I would never do anything to undermine Social Security.”
On Monday, President Trump reflected on reforming the entitlement program in an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
“First of all, there’s a lot we can do in terms of rights and cuts,” Trump said. “And the rights management is also very poor in terms of theft and mismanagement of rights.”
“We know that we’re going to end up weakening Social Security because the country is weak. I mean, look outside the stock market,” Trump continued. “We’re going through hell. People are going through hell.”
A campaign spokesperson later said Trump was talking about “waste reduction, not rights.”
His comments at the time appeared to be an afterthought to his statement. Republicans objected fiercely “Not a penny” should be cut from either of the two programs.
Democrats quickly pounced on President Trump’s initial comments about two entitlement programs for seniors. Economists argue It has become the biggest factor in the rapidly increasing US budget deficit.
“Trump wants to put Social Security and Medicare on the brink. Not on my watch,” President Biden, 81, shot back.
The Biden camp was also unconvinced by President Trump’s clarification of his position on rights.
“We believe Donald Trump’s words and his actions to cut Social Security and Medicare,” Biden-Harris 2024 Press Secretary James Singer said in a statement.
“Seniors can trust President Biden, who has made it clear he will never allow cuts to Social Security and Medicare.”
Social Security’s Old Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund is expected to go bankrupt as early as 2032. According to the Congressional Budget Office. The Medicare HI Trust Fund is projected to reach bankruptcy by approximately 2030. According to CBO.
Although economists disagree on exactly when these funds will run out, there is broad agreement that the two programs are unsustainable on their current trajectory.
Many Republicans in both chambers are considering tweaks to Social Security and Medicare to ensure they remain in place.
Among the reforms being considered are raising the retirement age and implementing stricter means testing, meaning cuts to benefits for wealthy retirees.
Biden repeatedly accused Republicans of seeking eligibility cuts in his State of the Union address last week.
But throughout his career, Biden has occasionally done the following in public: supported similar adjustments Some of those programs are to ensure that the solvent remains.
For example, in 1996, he dangled the possibility Either raise the retirement age by one year or lower the cost of living adjustment by 1%.
As presidents, neither had any intention of seriously pursuing such an arrangement.
Both men, who are technically eligible for both programs, have accused the other of threatening Medicare and Social Security.
“We’re not going to let him destroy Social Security,” Biden said at a rally in Richmond, Virginia, earlier this month. “I’m not going to let him bankrupt Medicare.”
