Reprinted with permission from Shareblue.com
A Republican congressman has revealed that Donald Trump confessed that he plans to push cuts to Social Security and Medicare “on the first day of his second term.”
The revelation came after the unnamed congressman met with several reporters on Capitol Hill, discussing the underlying plans behind Trump’s long-term thinking, Business Insider reports.
Trump “told a Republican member of Congress that he was willing to go after Social Security and other entitlement programs at the beginning of his second term.” The comment was made away from the intense glare of public scrutiny, where he would be lambasted for going after these popular programs.
But it does echo ideas that have been consistently promoted by House Speaker Paul Ryan, who has had the social safety net in his targets for years.
Ryan recently told a radio show host that after shoving through the unpopular tax scam bill, with its carve-outs for the ultra-wealthy, he hopes to attack Medicare and Social Security in the next legislative session.
Ryan audaciously claimed that “it’s the health care entitlements that are the big drivers of our debt,” just as he is pursuing legislation that will drastically increase the deficit, possibly by $1 trillion.
Ryan noted that Trump agreed with him on the initiative, and boasted that “this has been my big thing for many, many years.”
“When Donald Trump launched his campaign, he pledged to the American people that he would not cut Medicare or Social Security,” Andrew Bates, deputy communications director for American Bridge, said in a statement to Shareblue Media. “Now, less than one year into his administration, we’re learning that as Trump tries to pass tax cuts for the wealthy that sell-out the middle class, he’s also having private conversations with members of Congress about breaking both of those major promises to the country.”
Back in 2015, as he launched his presidential campaign, Trump tweeted, “I was the first & only potential GOP candidate to state there will be no cuts to Social Security, Medicare & Medicaid.”
And in the speech officially announcing his candidacy, Trump said, “Save Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security without cuts. Have to do it.”
Trump has lied and lied about so many things, and dishonesty has been the lifeblood of his political existence. That he is now promising behind closed doors to gut Social Security and Medicare, is not a surprise. Rather, it’s a confirmation that he is the deceiver we always knew he was.
