On Tuesday, The White House shifted into damage-control mode following
Elon Musk
appeared to indicate that Social Security and Medicare were the next objectives of his metaphorical DOGE chainsaw.
On Monday, Musk
told
As stated by Fox Business host Larry Kudlow, “Therefore, the significant wastage and fraudulent activities in entitlement spending constitute most of the federal expenditures. Hence, eliminating those would be crucial.”
Musk suggested reducing federal funding for major government benefit programs such as Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.
went viral
on social media.
On Tuesday, however,
Donald Trump
’s White House
issued
A statement released indicating an absence of intentions to reduce funding for Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid—while simultaneously supporting Musk and criticizing journalist Jake Sherman instead.
The Trump Administration will not reduce Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid benefits,” the statement read. ” President Trump has personally stated this multiple times.
Elon Musk didn’t say that, either. It’sFake Sherman.
lying again
The statement noted, emphasizing an X post by Sherman that stated: “This interview will be featured in numerous Democratic television advertisements in the coming years.”
A post from Trump’s Rapid Response team elsewhere stated: “Cease with your lies,Fake Sherman. It’s clear he was referring to the waste within these programs. Here’s the undeniable evidence:”
video
.”
The White House release subsequently included several “facts” aimed at supporting its argument, such as those from an inspector general’s report.
report
Starting from August 2024, reports indicated that there were $72 billion in incorrect Social Security payments made during the period from 2015 to 2022. This figure represents under 1 percent of the overall amount disbursed over those years.
On Fox, Musk proposed that he might be able to save up to $700 billion by having his DOGE team tackle entitlement programs.
He frequently claims that the Social Security system is fraught with fraud, highlighting instances where numerous people claimed to be over 100 years old yet were still listed as active participants in the program. This was part of the White House’s statement.
linked
According to a 2024 report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office, over the last twenty years, the federal government has reportedly issued approximately $2.7 trillion in ‘improper payments.’
majority
which include ‘ payments to people who have passed away or are no longer entitled to benefits from government programs.’ ”
Earlier this year, Leland Dudek, who was serving as the acting commissioner of the Social Security Administration, stated clearly that those individuals mentioned are not receiving payments.
“The information provided refers to individuals in our database who possess a Social Security number but lack an associated date of death,” he explained.
said
Back in February, “These people might not be getting benefits.”
Nevertheless, Musk
said
In a recent episode of Joe Rogan’s podcast last month, he stated that Social Security “is the largest Ponzi scheme ever.”
Although Trump has consistently stated that he won’t reduce Social Security or Medicare benefits, skeptics fear that he might exploit the elimination of waste and fraud as a pretext for making such cuts anyway.
“I won’t be touching Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid,” Trump stated.
Sunday
on Fox News’
Sunday Morning Futures.
“We’re going to eliminate fraud from now on. Everyone supports our efforts to remove fraud, so your cooperation will improve the situation.”
Find out more on The Daily Beast.
