John,

The corporate media establishment is lining up behind Donald Trump to obscure his real positions. First, they defended Trump’s calls for Social Security cuts, then they downplayed his current threats to Social Security, then they came for Kamala Harris.

Look at this, from supposedly-neutral PolitiFact:

Failure and innocence aren’t the same thing. That’s why Attempted Murder is a crime.

After public outcry, PolitiFact deleted that tweet, but kept the “promise kept” article up on their website.¹

Now, as Social Security Works has launched our campaign to alert the public of Trump’s promise to defund Social Security if re-elected, PolitiFact fact-checked us directly:²

“Trump told reporters that if he wins re-election he wanted to 'terminate' the program’s primary funding source. He can’t do that on his own.”

These so-called neutral observers are twisting themselves into pretzels not to believe their eyes or ears.

When Donald Trump says he wants to permanently defund Social Security, believe him.

We’re fighting for Social Security, and whether we have to fight Trump or PolitiFact, we’re not stopping. Chip in $7 today to save Social Security from Trump!

Let’s review the facts:

One week ago today, Donald Trump promised to permanently defund Social Security if he is reelected.³ On Monday, he doubled down on that pledge.⁴ His legal advisor tweeted enthusiastically⁵ about permanently terminating payroll contributions, as did his campaign Twitter account.⁶

Now, in response to the political fallout, the White House is telling us not to believe our own eyes and ears―and the “fact checkers” in the media are siding with the White House. They insist that Trump did not mean what he said, and ”has no plans” to defund Social Security. So, let’s review the evidence.

Trump has been hostile to Social Security since long before he became President. Vice President Mike Pence, Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, and close economic adviser Stephen Moore also have long histories of hostility to Social Security. Once in office, Trump’s proposed budgets included cuts to Social Security.⁷ Earlier this year, Trump told a room filled with Davos elites that he would look into cutting entitlements–code for Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid–if he is reelected.⁸

Last week, Trump showed us how he would defund Social Security, when he unilaterally ordered the IRS to stop collecting Social Security contributions temporarily. Once reelected, he could continue to defer collection “temporarily” on his own, until the Anti-Deficiency Act required all benefits to stop automatically.

Make no mistake―the fate of our Social Security system is on the ballot this November! Chip in $7 today to SAVE Social Security from Trump!

Prior to running for office, Donald Trump showed he understood the politics of Social Security and Medicare. In a 2011 interview with Sean Hannity, Trump warned that “you have to be very careful that the Republicans don't go too far ahead in front because they are going to lose the…election…if that happens.”⁹

Sure enough, he followed his own advice in 2016, promising he would not cut Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid. Now, with political fallout raining down on him, he is apparently backing off on his pledge to “terminate” Social Security’s funding unilaterally, which will terminate Social Security.¹⁰

So, do you believe Trump when he is not thinking about getting elected or Trump when his advisors have realized defunding Social Security is political arsenic? Even if the answer somehow isn’t obvious, the only prudent course for people who care about their earned Social Security is to defeat Trump this November.

PolitiFact’s conduct has consequences for the election. Sen. Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for Vice President, gave a swift and stern rebuke to Trump’s scheme when he first promised to defund Social Security.¹¹ Almost immediately after the VP announcement, they rated her rebuke of Trump as “mostly false” for the same reasons they dinged Social Security Works.¹²

This is the tilted playing field we’re fighting in 2020. The fact-checkers refuse to believe their eyes and ears, and we’ll all pay the price.

We won’t be cowed by the corporate media. We’re standing up for the truth, even when it’s scary―that’s the only way the people will make their voices heard. Chip in $7 today!

Thanks,

Alex Lawson
Social Security Works