Despite his opposition to cutting Social Security and Medicare and his attacks on his Republican presidential primary opponents on the matter, former president Trump hinted on Monday that he could be willing to do so.
In an interview with CNBC, the question was addressed as to whether Trump had reconsidered his approach to dealing with entitlement programmes in light of the national debt.
Trump made the statement while appearing on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” He included entitlements, cuts, stealing, and poor management.
There are “incredible amounts of things” and “numerous things you can do,” he continued.
In response to a video clip that Trump’s campaign had created of the interview, President Joe Biden said, “Not on my watch.”
Karoline Leavitt, a spokeswoman for Trump’s campaign, then informed AWN that the president was “clearly talking about cutting waste, not entitlements.”
Leavitt stated that Trump has kept his word to safeguard Medicare and Social Security during his first term, and he will keep it even stronger during his second term. He went on to say that Joe Biden is the only candidate who could jeopardise these programmes.
Leavitt predicted that President Trump would swiftly restore the greatest economy in history and secure Medicare and Social Security for future generations by releasing American energy, eliminating regulations that harm jobs, and implementing pro-growth America First tax and trade policies.
Cutting Social Security benefits, especially disability payments, and Medicare payments to providers was a major part of Trump’s administration’s proposed budget cutbacks while he was in office. In 2020, Trump gave CNBC an interview in which he hinted at the possibility of slashing government programmes in order to lower the national debt.
This election cycle, however, Trump has pledged again and time again to “always defend Medicare and Social Security.” He further states in a video posted to his campaign website, “Under no circumstances should Republicans vote to cut a single penny from Medicare or Social Security.”
At a campaign rally in Michigan last month, Trump stated, “We don’t have to toy around with Social Security and Medicare.
Former Republican challenger Nikki Haley, who supported revamping these entitlement programmes, was another target of Trump’s venomous attacks while campaigning. Increasing the retirement eligibility age for today’s younger workers and reducing the benefits for wealthier Americans were two of Haley’s policies. In addition, Trump relentlessly attacked Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, for his previous stances on Social Security privatisation and raising the retirement age, which DeSantis had distanced himself from during his unsuccessful presidential campaign.
Republicans have offered solutions to the financial problems plaguing Social Security and Medicare, while the Biden administration has aimed to highlight the president’s support for these programmes. Biden threatened to halt efforts to reduce programmes or increase the retirement age in last week’s State of the Union speech.
According to the most current report from the Social Security trustees, the program’s combined trust funds are projected to run dry in 2034. At that point, continuous income from taxes will only pay 80% of benefits owed, unless there are any adjustments.
Latest Medicare trustees’ annual report states that Medicare Part A, the hospital insurance trust fund, will only have enough money to cover scheduled benefits in full until 2031. Medicare, which provides health insurance to around 67 million seniors and persons with disabilities, will have sufficient funds to cover 89% of all scheduled benefits when that time comes.
Congressional Budget Office projections show that expenditure on Social Security and Medicare will have to increase due to rising health care expenses and an ageing population.
The health insurance programme for low-income Americans, Medicaid, has been more amenable to cuts in enrollment and federal financing under Trump. Thousands of Arkansans lost health insurance after his administration granted several states’ demands to have some enrollees work. Arkansas was the only state to briefly execute the requirement before it was blocked by federal courts.
Republicans sought to reduce the growth rate of federal funding for Medicaid and pay a fixed amount to the states annually as part of their 2017 campaign to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. Beyond that, they aimed to eliminate Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion for low-income individuals.
Trump Disses TikTok
Trump also mentioned the “tough decision” of whether or not to ban TikTok in his Monday interview with CNBC, arguing that Facebook would gain from the app’s removal.
Along with his belief that “Facebook has been very bad for our country, especially when it comes to elections,” Trump stated, “The thing I don’t like is that without TikTok, you can make Facebook bigger. And I consider Facebook to be an enemy of the people along with a lot of the media.”
“You have that problem with Facebook and lots of other companies too,” Trump added, while acknowledging that “there are a lot of people on TikTok that love it.” He continued by saying that he believed TikTok constituted a threat to US national security.
In his remarks, Trump acknowledged that TikTok had both positive and negative aspects.
A bill that might lead to a statewide ban on TikTok on all electronic devices was advanced unanimously by a House committee just days before he made his statements. The House Energy and Commerce Committee passed a bill that would ban TikTok from US app stores unless the social media network is rapidly separated from its parent business, ByteDance, which is related to China. About 170 million people in the United States use TikTok, making it one of the most popular social media applications globally.
Despite appearing to have reversed his position, Trump did back efforts to ban the app while he was president. Trump was questioned by CNBC regarding his shifting stance on TikTok and whether there was any correlation to his recent encounter with Jeff Yass, a prominent GOP contributor and significant financier of the app.
Yass “never mentioned TikTok,” according to Trump, who claimed he and Yass spoke for “a few minutes” and that none of them discussed the popular video sharing platform.
While in office, Trump stated his intention for Congress to determine whether or not TikTok should be prohibited.
It was within my power to accomplish it if I had want to, Trump stated. “I kind of implied that you all need to make that call because it’s not an easy one.”
“Tariffs are incredibly potent.”
In the interview that took place on Monday, Trump added, “I’m a big believer in tariffs,” and stated that implementing tariffs “gives you power in dealing with other countries.”
Since they oppose tariffs, tariffs are a potent tool for preventing conflicts. The fear of tariffs got other nations to sing as well, and I can honestly say that I did it. According to Trump, “we have nothing whatsoever on them” in the absence of tariffs.
Last month, Trump stated that, should he be re-elected president, he would think about slapping a tariff of more than 60% on all imports from China.
In June 2018, Trump levied 25% tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese imports while serving as president. The tariff spiral continued until 2020, when the two nations finally reached an agreement after Beijing responded with its own levies. Tariffs imposed by Trump are still in effect under the Biden administration.