Experts caution the public on the differences between Trump’s campaign promises on Social Security, Medicare and drug prices… and the reality.
ALEX LAWSON; contact Communications Director Linda Benesch at lbenesch@socialsecurityworks.org
Lawson is the Executive Director of Social Security Works.
Social Security Works divides its work into three areas: Social Security, Medicare and the privatization of U.S. healthcare, and drug prices. Lawson told the Institute for Public Accuracy: “None of these three issue areas are tiptop agenda items. Cutting any of these things is deeply unpopular with Democrats, independents and Republicans…. These are issues with around 80 percent support in this country. We will use the popularity of these programs to fight against all attacks on them.
“The majority of Republicans also want to expand Social Security. That’s the pretzel that the Republicans find themselves in: the things they ran on are different than the things that they are geared to do and which are written down in Project 2025. Trump ran a campaign [claiming] he was ‘on the side of Social Security.’ We will use that to fend off orthodox conservatives in Congress as much as possible.
“No matter what anyone says, when the Republicans get power, the debt ceiling will be raised with no muss and fuss. That poses a reduced risk [to Social Security] compared to when the debt ceiling is held hostage by Congress. The Republicans have put forward a ‘Fiscal Commission’––a back room that will be used to push through deeply unpopular cuts to Social Security and Medicare while protecting billionaires from having their taxes raised. We predict that that commission will move forward in some fashion.
“Exposing the commission and any other attempts to cut Social Security will be a key focus [of Social Security Works]. We also expect massive cuts to the Social Security Administration (SSA) itself, which is part of a strategy that kneecaps the mailman and then complains that the mail is late. It’s about degrading SSA and then complaining about the crises that happen.”
Lawson noted that the situation when it comes to Medicare and healthcare is “bleak. Project 2025 and the old style Republicans want to privatize Medicare and turn healthcare over to the giant insurance corporations: United, Humana, CVS… We will see further segmentation of the market. Sick people and likely-to-be-sick people will find limited, expensive options… We expect that process to be full bore from Day 1. What that looks like is privatizing Medicare as fast as possible.
“Traditional Medicare is incredibly popular––just like Social Security is incredibly popular. Trump didn’t run on cutting Social Security and privatizing Medicare. He ran as ‘the Social Security protector.’ This is the first cycle where that happened. Republicans said they were going to protect Social Security and end taxes on it, and said that Harris would destroy Social Security by allowing ‘illegals’ to get it… Millions of people pulled the lever for Trump not thinking that he’s going to cut Social Security or take away their healthcare.
“Drug prices paint a more complicated picture. Trump has heterodox views on drug prices and didn’t run on raising them. Lower drug prices are incredibly popular. The Republican plan will be to try to attack drug price negotiation and substitute in something else. Pharma will be laser focused on getting rid of those negotiations.”