{"id":1029354,"date":"2024-01-22T20:53:09","date_gmt":"2024-01-22T20:53:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/?p=1029354"},"modified":"2024-05-20T03:52:39","modified_gmt":"2024-05-20T03:52:39","slug":"four-years-ago-today-donald-trump-confirmed-he-would-gut-social-security-and-medicare-in-a-second-term","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/four-years-ago-today-donald-trump-confirmed-he-would-gut-social-security-and-medicare-in-a-second-term\/","title":{"rendered":"FOUR YEARS AGO TODAY: Donald Trump Confirmed He Would Gut Social Security and Medicare in a Second Term"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On the four-year anniversary of Donald Trump declaring he would gut Social Security and Medicare during a second term, <\/em>DNC Rapid Response Director Alex Floyd released the following statement: <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDonald Trump can\u2019t hide from his own words: He told the American people four years ago that he would cut Social Security and Medicare if he ever got a second term in office, and has only doubled down on his pledge to gut these critical programs since then. After proposing disastrous cuts to Social Security and Medicare in every single one of his budgets as president, Trump is still running on the same out-of-touch plans that would threaten the pocketbooks of America\u2019s seniors. It\u2019s yet another piece of a losing agenda that Trump and MAGA Republicans will regret come November.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FOUR YEARS AGO TODAY: Donald Trump said he would cut Social Security and Medicare in a second term in office \u2013 essential programs America\u2019s seniors rely on.<\/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

Trump continued to admit throughout his 2020 campaign that he would pursue cuts to Medicare and Social Security programs if he were to have 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

Mediaite<\/a>: \u201cDuring a Fox News town hall, President Donald Trump promised to cut entitlements like Medicare and Social Security if 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 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 long made calls to privatize Social Security and even praised Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan 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

Nikki Haley is also campaigning on ending Social Security and Medicare as we know them. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

CNN<\/a>: \u201cHaley has called for several changes to the nation\u2019s safety net programs,<\/strong> including increasing the age at which today\u2019s younger workers would become eligible for Social Security retirement benefits and limiting the growth of benefits the wealthy receive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Haley<\/a>: \u201cWhat they need to be doing is looking at entitlements. Look at Social Security. Look at Medicaid. Look at Medicare. Look at these things, and let\u2019s actually go to the heart of what is causing government to grow, and tackle that.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Haley<\/a>: \u201cAny candidate that says they\u2019re not going to touch entitlements, means that they\u2019re basically going to go into office and leave America bankrupt. \u2026 We change retirement age to reflect life expectancy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andrew Ross Sorkin<\/a>: \u201cAre you on board with cutting entitlements in a big and meaningful way?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Haley: \u201cSocial security goes bankrupt in 10 years, Medicare goes bankrupt in eight. Anyone that says they’re not going to take on entitlement reform means they’re going to go in and be president and leave the country bankrupt.<\/strong> You can’t do that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Associated Press<\/a>: \u201cRepublican presidential candidate Nikki Haley is proposing changes to entitlement programs for younger generations, opening the door to potential cuts to Social Security and Medicare if elected.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Washington Post<\/a>: \u201cNikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor and U. N. ambassador who is planning to announce her own presidential bid this month, also praised Ryan\u2019s Medicare proposal at the time and said lawmakers should examine Medicare and Social Security spending to address federal debt.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Semafor<\/a>: \u201cAs governor of South Carolina at the time, Nikki Haley praised the [Paul Ryan] fiscal blueprint for \u2018trying to bring common sense to this world of insanity.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MAGA Republicans\u2019 plan to gut Social Security and Medicare is highly unpopular with Americans. <\/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","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On the four-year anniversary of Donald Trump declaring he would gut Social Security and Medicare during a second term, DNC Rapid Response Director Alex Floyd released the following statement:  \u201cDonald Trump can\u2019t hide from his own words: He told the American people four years ago that he would cut Social Security and Medicare if he […]<\/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-1029354","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nFOUR YEARS AGO TODAY: Donald Trump Confirmed He Would Gut Social Security and Medicare in a Second Term - 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\/four-years-ago-today-donald-trump-confirmed-he-would-gut-social-security-and-medicare-in-a-second-term\/\" \/>\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=\"2024-01-22T20:53:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-05-20T03:52:39+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=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/four-years-ago-today-donald-trump-confirmed-he-would-gut-social-security-and-medicare-in-a-second-term\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/four-years-ago-today-donald-trump-confirmed-he-would-gut-social-security-and-medicare-in-a-second-term\/\",\"name\":\"FOUR YEARS AGO TODAY: Donald Trump Confirmed He Would Gut Social Security and Medicare in a Second Term - Democrats\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/four-years-ago-today-donald-trump-confirmed-he-would-gut-social-security-and-medicare-in-a-second-term\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/four-years-ago-today-donald-trump-confirmed-he-would-gut-social-security-and-medicare-in-a-second-term\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/War-Room-Master-Image.png?w=1024\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-01-22T20:53:09+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-05-20T03:52:39+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/#\/schema\/person\/c31239f43161314a03057960c56c0564\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/four-years-ago-today-donald-trump-confirmed-he-would-gut-social-security-and-medicare-in-a-second-term\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/four-years-ago-today-donald-trump-confirmed-he-would-gut-social-security-and-medicare-in-a-second-term\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/four-years-ago-today-donald-trump-confirmed-he-would-gut-social-security-and-medicare-in-a-second-term\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/War-Room-Master-Image.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/War-Room-Master-Image.png\",\"width\":1500,\"height\":500},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/four-years-ago-today-donald-trump-confirmed-he-would-gut-social-security-and-medicare-in-a-second-term\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"FOUR YEARS AGO TODAY: Donald Trump Confirmed He Would Gut Social Security and Medicare in a Second Term\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/\",\"name\":\"Democrats\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/#\/schema\/person\/c31239f43161314a03057960c56c0564\",\"name\":\"Claire DePree\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/262c0b3f1914330fe3241c699fd21798ee92a8504fc6296028e8fa17334d1151?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/262c0b3f1914330fe3241c699fd21798ee92a8504fc6296028e8fa17334d1151?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Claire DePree\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/author\/depreec\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"FOUR YEARS AGO TODAY: Donald Trump Confirmed He Would Gut Social Security and Medicare in a Second Term - Democrats","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/four-years-ago-today-donald-trump-confirmed-he-would-gut-social-security-and-medicare-in-a-second-term\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_site_name":"Democrats","article_published_time":"2024-01-22T20:53:09+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-05-20T03:52:39+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/War-Room-Master-Image.png?w=1024","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Claire DePree","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Claire DePree","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/four-years-ago-today-donald-trump-confirmed-he-would-gut-social-security-and-medicare-in-a-second-term\/","url":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/four-years-ago-today-donald-trump-confirmed-he-would-gut-social-security-and-medicare-in-a-second-term\/","name":"FOUR YEARS AGO TODAY: Donald Trump Confirmed He Would Gut Social Security and Medicare in a Second Term - Democrats","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/four-years-ago-today-donald-trump-confirmed-he-would-gut-social-security-and-medicare-in-a-second-term\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/four-years-ago-today-donald-trump-confirmed-he-would-gut-social-security-and-medicare-in-a-second-term\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/War-Room-Master-Image.png?w=1024","datePublished":"2024-01-22T20:53:09+00:00","dateModified":"2024-05-20T03:52:39+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/#\/schema\/person\/c31239f43161314a03057960c56c0564"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/four-years-ago-today-donald-trump-confirmed-he-would-gut-social-security-and-medicare-in-a-second-term\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/four-years-ago-today-donald-trump-confirmed-he-would-gut-social-security-and-medicare-in-a-second-term\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/four-years-ago-today-donald-trump-confirmed-he-would-gut-social-security-and-medicare-in-a-second-term\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/War-Room-Master-Image.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/War-Room-Master-Image.png","width":1500,"height":500},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/four-years-ago-today-donald-trump-confirmed-he-would-gut-social-security-and-medicare-in-a-second-term\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"FOUR YEARS AGO TODAY: Donald Trump Confirmed He Would Gut Social Security and Medicare in a Second Term"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/","name":"Democrats","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/#\/schema\/person\/c31239f43161314a03057960c56c0564","name":"Claire DePree","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/262c0b3f1914330fe3241c699fd21798ee92a8504fc6296028e8fa17334d1151?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/262c0b3f1914330fe3241c699fd21798ee92a8504fc6296028e8fa17334d1151?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Claire DePree"},"url":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/author\/depreec\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1029354","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/263"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1029354"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1029354\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1032130,"href":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1029354\/revisions\/1032130"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1029354"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1029354"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1029354"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}