Claim: President Joe Biden claimed at the State of the Union on Thursday night that Republicans want to cut social security.
Verdict: Mostly False. While some Republicans have proposed social security and medicare cuts, presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has vowed he would never cut Social Security if elected to the White House for a second term.
During Thursday’s State of the Union Address, Biden claimed, “We have two ways to go” regarding Social Security.
“Republicans can cut Social Security and give more tax breaks to the wealthy,” Biden said, prompting boos from House and Senate Republicans.
“That’s the proposal,” Biden falsely responded to the boos. “Oh, no? You guys don’t want another two trillion dollar tax cut? I thought that’s what your plan was. Well, that’s good to hear.”
In that sentence, he was met with a protest of “Liar!” from the Republican side of the aisle.
Trump, who is Biden’s likely November opponent and is beating him in both national and swing state polling, vowed to Breitbart News in 2022 that he would never slash Social Security if he gets back into the Oval Office. Trump, in that December 2022 interview, also slammed establishment Republicans like former Speaker Paul Ryan, who have sought to “destroy it,” as Trump put it.
“We have to protect it. It’s a contract with the people,” Trump said of Social Security. “They go in. They work and they do. They put their blood, sweat, and tears into Social Security and then you have a guy like a Paul Ryan or others that want to destroy it. We have a contract. There are plenty of places we can take from where it’s waste. Look at the Green New Deal nonsense. That’s many times Social Security, what they’re doing with the Green New Deal. That is like throwing money out the window. I’m all for the environment. I’m an environmentalist in the truest sense. But the Green New Deal is like the Green New Hoax. It’s a hoax. Then when they talk about Social Security, they’re going to destroy Social Security so they can build more windmills all over the place that don’t work? It’s not going to happen with me.”
Trump also called on Republicans in the 118th Congress never to touch Social Security or Medicare.
“Under no circumstances should Republicans vote to cut a single penny from medicare or social security to help pay for Joe Biden’s reckless spending spree, which is more reckless than anybody’s ever done or had in the history of our country,” Trump said.
Unless Republican members wants to put themself at odds with the presumptive nominee –whose endorsement is like gold in a Republican primary – the GOP is very unlikely to touch Social Security.
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