“Trump cut Social Security benefits by over $3 billion.”
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President Donald Trump speaks at the White House on Nov. 5, 2020. (AP)
Progressive group wrong, Trump didn’t cut Social Security benefits by $3 billion
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Trump proposed policies that would have cut aspects of the program, but none were adopted.
As part of a push to raise Social Security benefits, a group that works to elect progressives made a false attack on former President Donald Trump.
"Trump cut Social Security benefits by over $3 BILLION," was the first line of a Facebook post by the Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC.
The Nov. 10 post, still widely shared in late December, linked to an online petition calling for raising Social Security benefits by $200 per month.
The post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)
Trump did not make any such cut to Social Security benefits.
Featured Fact-check
There were times when Trump raised fears about cuts to Social Security.
For example, in September 2020, he said he wanted to eliminate the payroll tax, which funds Social Security. But that didn’t happen.
Trump periodically proposed policies that would cut aspects of the program, but none were enacted by Congress.
We rated as a Promise Kept a Trump campaign pledge to make no cuts to Social Security.
The Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC didn’t reply to our messages seeking information to back its claim.
We rate this claim False.
Our Sources
Facebook, post, Nov. 10, 2021
Associated Press, "Claims Trump cut Social Security mislead," Oct. 31, 2020
PolitiFact, "Trump proposed cuts, but Congress didn’t bite," July 15, 2020
PolitiFact, "Fact-checking Joe Biden's claim that Donald Trump’s payroll tax 'plan' sinks Social Security," Sept. 4, 2020
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Progressive group wrong, Trump didn’t cut Social Security benefits by $3 billion
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