When it comes to campaign talking points, President Joe Biden has a trough full of issues to draw upon, and Trump last week gave him one that will certainly be key: social security.
On Monday during a CNBC interview, Trump said there was “a lot you can do in terms of entitlement, in terms of cutting.” While he didn’t explicitly cite cuts in Social Security, the implications will not be missed by Biden and other Democrats facing reelection.
Trump’s campaign team, recognizing what may be an opening for opponents, quickly announced that what he meant was cutting the waste, though that, too, required context and elaboration.
Even Barrett Marson, a GOP political strategist from Arizona, was alarmed by what he deemed an ambiguous comment and felt they might have currency given that they were taped.
“But in some ways, that doesn’t matter because it’s on tape,” Marson said, “and the Biden campaign will almost assuredly use that tape a lot, and the Trump campaign will have to spend time and money to refute that.”
Biden wasted no time seizing on the threat to the cuts, stating “Not on my watch. Many of my Republican friends want to put Social Security and Medicare back on the chopping block again. If anyone tries to cut Social Security or Medicare or raise the retirement age again, I will stop them,” he said.
The president went on to say last week in New Hampshire, “Instead of giving tax breaks to the wealthy, I will protect and strengthen social security and Medicare and make the wealthy begin to pay their fair share.”
Most Americans are in accord with Biden on this when he mentioned it during his State of the Union address. Of course, anything to do with cuts is mainly left on the campaign trail since the budget and proposed cuts are determined by Congress. Even so, it will be a hot-button issue right into November.