The row began Monday when CNBC’s “Squawk Box” host Joe Kernen had offered that former President Trump and President Biden differed little when it came to managing Social Security and Medicare.
Biden has repeatedly said he does not wish to make cuts to either programs.
Trump pushed back on this characterization commenting, “There is a lot you can do in terms of entitlements in terms of cutting.”
This set off a round of criticisms from the Biden camp, with the president saying at a campaign event he would “never allow it to happen.”
Trump quickly clarified his remarks, telling Breitbart News Wednesday, “I will never do anything that will jeopardize or hurt Social Security or Medicare.”
Throughout this back-and-forth, neither camp directly addressed the fact that both Medicare and Social Security trust funds are projected to be depleted some time in the 2030s if nothing changes. If this were to occur, full benefits from the program may cease to be provided.
Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy (R) waded into the fray Thursday, saying neither candidate had a real plan for saving Social Security. The senator took the opportunity to promote his “Big Plan” for saving he program which involves creating an investment fund separate from the Social Security Trust Fund.
“Every national fund around the world does it except for Social. If we did it for Social, we could actually bail out Social and make the program better,” Cassidy said on Fox Business.
