DNC National Press Secretary Sarafina Chitika released the following statement: 

“You would think MAGA Republicans would have learned by now that Americans don’t want them to gut Social Security and Medicare, yet Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis are still determined to put these critical programs on the chopping block. No matter how they try to spin it, they’ve been leading the charge to gut these essential lifelines for millions of working families and seniors, leaving them high and dry. It’s just another example of their failed MAGAnomics agenda that only benefits the ultra-wealthy while leaving everyday Americans behind – and they’ll pay the price for their extreme attacks on the pocketbooks of America’s seniors come this November.”

Nikki Haley continues to campaign on ending Social Security and Medicare as we know them — gutting essential programs America’s seniors rely on. 

CNN: “Haley has called for several changes to the nation’s safety net programs, including increasing the age at which today’s younger workers would become eligible for Social Security retirement benefits and limiting the growth of benefits the wealthy receive.”

“Nearly 67 million Americans have received monthly Social Security benefits this year, and more than 66 million people are enrolled in Medicare. Polling shows little support for major changes to the programs themselves to help shore up their finances.

“A March CNN/SSRS poll of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, for instance, found that 59% said it was ‘essential’ that the GOP nominee for president ‘pledges to maintain Social Security and Medicare as they are.’”

Haley: “What they need to be doing is looking at entitlements. Look at Social Security. Look at Medicaid. Look at Medicare. Look at these things, and let’s actually go to the heart of what is causing government to grow, and tackle that.”

Haley: “Any candidate that says they’re not going to touch entitlements, means that they’re basically going to go into office and leave America bankrupt. … We change retirement age to reflect life expectancy.”

Andrew Ross Sorkin: “Are you on board with cutting entitlements in a big and meaningful way?”

Haley: “Social security goes bankrupt in 10 years, Medicare goes bankrupt in eight. Anyone that says they’re not going to take on entitlement reform means they’re going to go in and be president and leave the country bankrupt. You can’t do that.”

Associated Press: “Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley is proposing changes to entitlement programs for younger generations, opening the door to potential cuts to Social Security and Medicare if elected.”

Washington Post: “Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor and U. N. ambassador who is planning to announce her own presidential bid this month, also praised Ryan’s Medicare proposal at the time and said lawmakers should examine Medicare and Social Security spending to address federal debt.

Semafor: “As governor of South Carolina at the time, Nikki Haley praised the [Paul Ryan] fiscal blueprint for ‘trying to bring common sense to this world of insanity.’”

Ron DeSantis also has a long, shameful record of trying to gut Social Security and Medicare. 

Semafor: “During his time in Congress, meanwhile, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis voted for a series of budget resolutions crafted by the conservative Republican Study Committee that would have voucherized Medicare for new beneficiaries, slowed Social Security cost of living increases, and raised the retirement age for both programs.”

CNN: “A CNN KFile review of comments from DeSantis’ 2012 congressional campaign found he repeatedly said he supported plans to replace Medicare with a system in which the government paid for partial costs of private plans or a traditional Medicare plan. In one interview with a local newspaper, DeSantis said he supported ‘the same thing’ for Social Security, citing the need for ‘market forces’ to restructure the program.”

Washington Post: “‘I support what Ryan is trying to do in terms of reforming entitlements,’ DeSantis said in a 2012 newspaper questionnaire. ‘It’s not a voucher, it’s premium support.’ 

“As a member of Congress, DeSantis voted for three nonbinding budget resolutions calling for raising the retirement age and slowing future spending growth for Social Security. 

“He received a 0 percent rating from the Alliance for Retired Americans, an affiliate of the AFL-CIO. During a previous showdown over the debt limit in 2013, DeSantis said he supported including Social Security and Medicare in the negotiations.

“‘I think we need to restructure some of these entitlements,’ he said in a 2013 CNN interview. ‘I think we should try to look at entitlements, look at restructuring Medicare so it’s delivering services at a lower cost to the taxpayer.’”

Insider: “‘Talking about making changes for people in their 30s or their 40s so that [Social Security] is viable, that’s a much different thing, and that’s something that I think there’s going to need to be discussions on,’ DeSantis told Fox News.”