In response to Donald Trump this week endorsing Rick Scott and receiving an endorsement from Kevin Hern, DNC National Press Secretary Sarafina Chitika released the following statement: 

“Donald Trump is teaming up with MAGA extremists Kevin Hern and Rick Scott,  two of the biggest champions of cutting Social Security and Medicare in Congress, and their support for Trump is no accident — Trump proposed cuts to Medicare and Social Security programs every single year he was in office and promised to pursue cuts to these programs again if he gets another chance. Trump and MAGA Republicans’ continued efforts to rip away Social Security and Medicare from hardworking Americans is deeply unpopular and dangerous, and voters will continue to reject MAGA Republicans’ ploy at the ballot box next November.”

This week, Donald Trump received an endorsement from Kevin Hern and endorsed Rick Scott — two of his MAGA allies who are hellbent on ending Social Security and Medicare as we know them.

Mica Soellner, Punchbowl News: “RSC Chair Kevin Hern endorses Trump after last night’s debate”

Florida Politics: “Donald Trump endorses Rick Scott for re-election”

Trump owns his record of proposing cuts to Medicare and Social Security programs in EVERY SINGLE ONE of his budgets. 

Vox: “Trump said he wouldn’t cut Medicaid, Social Security, and Medicare. His 2020 budget cuts all 3.”

As president, Trump even admitted that he would pursue cuts to Medicare and Social Security programs if he were to have a second term in office. 

Mediaite on Trump’s March 2020 Remarks: “During a Fox News town hall, President Donald Trump promised to cut entitlements like Medicare and Social Security if were to win a second term. … ‘But if you don’t cut something in entitlements, you will never really deal with the debt,’ town hall co-moderator Martha MacCallum interjected, alluding to social safety programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. ‘Oh, we’ll be cutting,’ Trump rushed to confirm.”

New York Times: “Trump Opens Door to Cuts to Medicare and Other Entitlement Programs”

National Review: “Speaking with CNBC at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Trump was asked whether he would cut entitlements at some point. ‘Will entitlements ever be on your plate?’ asked interviewer Joe Kernen. ‘At some point they will be,’ Trump responded. ‘At the right time, we will take a look at that. You know, that’s the easiest of all things [to cut].’”

Trump has a yearslong record of coming after these programs — he made calls to privatize Social Security and even praised Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan as they pushed plans to end Medicare as we know it.

CNN: “Former President Donald Trump once backed raising the retirement age to 70 and called for privatizing Social Security which he called a ‘Ponzi scheme’ – two positions he has hammered Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for supporting as a former member of Congress and congressional candidate. … but a CNN KFile review found Trump himself also once praised Ryan on Medicare, along with the 2012 presidential nominee Mitt Romney, without praising their specific policy proposal, which called for similar changes to Ryan’s plan.”

Hern is the chair of the ultra-conservative Republican Study Committee, which has pushed extreme proposals to slash Social Security and Medicare. 

Semafor: “These days, the RSC is best known around Washington as a GOP policy shop responsible for crafting proposals to balance the federal budget, often through changes and cuts to Social Security and Medicare.” 

Semafor: “A new budget proposal from the largest House GOP faction is reigniting a battle over the future of Social Security and Medicare.”

“For Medicare, it would begin offering seniors assistance to help buy private health coverage that competes against government insurance plans; it would also gradually raise the Social Security eligibility age to 69 for those who aren’t close to retiring.”

UpNorth News: “With the release of the Republican Study Committee’s budget, Republicans have ramped back up their attacks on [Medicare and Social Security]. 

“The proposed budget would make cuts to Social Security by raising the retirement age, though it does not specifically say what that new retirement age would be. Benefits would also be reduced for those who earned a ‘higher salary’ before retirement, but the budget again does not specify what that threshold would be. The budget also assures that there would only be ‘modest adjustments’ to Social Security as it operates now, but again, does not outline exactly what that means.”

Scott is hellbent on ending Social Security and Medicare as we know them – and is unapologetic in his plans to rip away essential benefits America’s seniors rely on. 

Scott: “In my plan, I suggested the following: All federal legislation sunsets in 5 yrs. If a law is worth keeping, Congress can pass it again.”

Scott, in response to backlash for his Rescue America Plan: “I’d like to apologize to absolutely nobody.”

And let’s not forget that newly-elected speaker MAGA Mike Johnson – who endorsed Trump last month – is a member and former chair of the RSC and has supported cuts to Social Security and Medicare. 

“The Conservative Playbook” by the RSC, led by Chairman Mike Johnson in the 116th Congress: “With our entitlement programs facing dire financial futures and more Americans receiving welfare benefits than ever before, we cannot afford to waste money simply because the federal bureaucracy writes checks to the wrong people or for the wrong amount.” 

Johnson: “We have to get back to [entitlement reform] as the number one priority.”

MAGA Republicans’ plan to gut Social Security and Medicare is deeply unpopular with Americans. 

Fox News: “Fox News Poll: 71% choose funding Social Security, Medicare over budget cuts”

AP: “Most oppose Social Security, Medicare cuts: AP-NORC poll”

Axios: “Nearly 9 in 10 Americans say they oppose reducing spending on Social Security or Medicare, according to new polling from our Axios-Ipsos Two Americas Index.”