Donald Trump has been all over the map on Social Security and Medicare

Former President Donald Trump has called for cuts to Social Security and Medicare and also portrayed himself as a protector of those programs.

WASHINGTON — When former President Donald Trump said last week on CNBC that “there’s a lot you can do in terms of entitlements, in terms of cutting,” it sparked an immediate outcry from President Joe Biden and began a battle over retirement programs that is likely to persist through the 2024 election.

Trump sought to clean it up, saying in an interview with the conservative website Breitbart, “I will never do anything that will jeopardize or hurt Social Security or Medicare.” Biden campaign spokesman James Singer accused Trump of trying to “trick voters,” saying, “Donald Trump tried cutting Social Security and Medicare by billions of dollars every single year he was in office.”

At the heart of the debate is the ticking clock: Actuaries say Medicare is solvent until 2028, while Social Security is solvent until 2033. After that, benefits will be forcibly cut unless more revenues are added. Biden’s new budget calls for tax hikes on upper earners to maintain the benefits. Trump hasn’t said how he would address the shortfall, leaving it an open question. His campaign didn't elaborate when it was asked multiple times to comment.

So what is Trump’s real record on Social Security and Medicare?

An NBC News examination found that his views have zigzagged over the years — from calling Social Security a “Ponzi scheme” in 2000 to endorsing then-Rep. Paul Ryan’s plans to restructure Medicare in 2012 to positioning himself as the protector of those programs in 2016 to taking aim at some retirement spending in his White House budgets (which never became law).

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/donald-trump-map-social-security-medicare-rcna143475

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