Trump claims he won't cut entitlements two weeks after saying he would

Donald Trump tweeted Sunday night that he will not be cutting entitlements like Social Security and Medicare, but just 10 days earlier, he vowed that he would cut them.

In Sunday’s Democratic debate, Joe Biden said of Trump, “This is a man who wants to cut Social Security, cut Medicare.”

Trump — after calling the debate “boring” — responded last Sunday night with: “Biden lied when he said I want to cut Social Security and Medicare. That’s what they ALL said 4 years ago, and nothing happened, in fact, I saved Social Security and Medicare. I will not be cutting, but they will. Be careful!”

But on March 5, Trump appeared on a Fox News town hall and said the opposite. Asked about reductions to entitlement programs to address the record-high national debt, Trump responded, “We’ll be cutting. But we’re also gonna have growth like you’ve never had before. We’ve never had growth like we’re experiencing.”

And last month, Trump’s administration proposed a budget containing major reductions in the largest entitlement programs, including cuts to Social Security’s disability program, changes to Medicare’s prescription drug pricing, and work requirements for Medicaid and food stamps. His budget from a year earlier included similar proposed cuts.

In January, Trump told CNBC that he would consider entitlement cuts “toward the end of the year.”

“At the right time we will take a look at that,” he said, arguing that his great economy would limit the need for the programs. “You know, that’s actually the easiest of all things, if you look, because it’s such a low percentage.”

A day later, he claimed he would “save” Social Security and the Democrats would “destroy” it.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.