‘That’s a Lie’: Donald Trump Isn’t Cutting Social Security

Donald Trump Is Learning a Hard Lesson: Making Changes to Social Security Is Fraught With Risk – While senior citizens in the United States are understandably concerned about the practices of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, there are some fears that are overblown.

Critics have said that DOGE eventually intends to cut Social Security and otherwise change it to affect the monthly payments. That could not be further from the truth.

Trump Said He Will Make No Amendments to Payments, the Retirement Age, or Payroll Taxes

President Donald Trump has said repeatedly that he will make no changes to the Social Security program.

Elon Musk and DOGE Are Finding Examples of Fraud to Root Out

However, Musk is attempting to slightly amend the program to battle waste, fraud, and abuse in the Social Security system.

Musk said, “the waste and fraud in entitlement spending — which is most of the federal spending is entitlements — so, that’s, like, the big one to eliminate. That’s the sort of half-trillion, maybe $6-700 billion a year.”

This statement has been misinterpreted by opponents as Musk wanting to change the popular retirement program drastically beyond recognition. What Musk is really saying is that he wants to “eliminate” waste, fraud, and abuse to save hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayer money.

He doesn’t mean the Trump administration will “eliminate” the program or change payments.

Are People Cheating the Social Security System?

Musk believes that the agency is giving out fraudulent payments to people who are older than the eldest citizens currently alive.

Musk thinks that many social security numbers are stolen or fake, which allows fraudsters to use the numbers to apply for monthly payments which they are often granted by a faulty system.

Musk has also called Social Security a “Ponzi scheme.”

This has led lawmakers to employ scare tactics to warn their constituents that Musk and Trump have plans to dismantle Social Security by making changes to benefits, payroll taxes, and retirement ages.

Democrats Are Breathing Fire, But Are These Scare Tactics?

“The richest man on Earth repeated again a bevy of lies that entitlement programs tens of millions of people rely on are riddled with fraud and abuse. That’s a pretext to slashing them, but it’s false,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in March.

Phone In System Could Be Open to Fraud

The Social Security Administration has tried to cut down on fraud by having some seniors and persons with disabilities visit SSA offices in person to prove their identity. This was previously done by telephone and Musk and the Trump administration thought that the unverified phone communication would make criminal behavior easier.

The in-person requirement would have gone into effect April 14. This would have made potential Social Security recipients who could not prove their identity online to do so in person.

Instead, SSA decided to change that requirement in favor of new anti-fraud software that would sniff out people who were trying to game the system by faking their identity or not providing identification confirmation via a phone call. SSA will also go back to the practice of telephone verification as the new software is implemented.

If the phone call software determines a malfeasance or cannot determine identity, the people in question will still have to visit an office in-person to self-identify.

This practice would be difficult for people who cannot drive or who have medical hardships. Some live far from SSA offices.

Trump has also reduced SSA workers by 7,000 which could make the in-person verification process slower.

“SSA’s announcement [April 9] that claimants will be able to continue validating identity by phone is a victory for Social Security beneficiaries across the country,” said Max Richtman, CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare.

No Changes at All to Social Security?

This saga shows that those who advocate for Social Security want absolutely no changes to the system even though there is evidence that people are using fake or stolen social security numbers to receive benefits.

Surely, there is a way to devise systems that will keep fraudulent claims from being made, and the phone call software is a step in the right direction. Social Security non-profits and other political critics of DOGE are unnecessarily scaring seniors that these initial changes will lead to their monthly stipends being cut.

Granted, Social Security is often the only retirement income that many seniors receive and have paid into the system all of their lives.

However, sometimes reform can improve the efficacy of delivering benefits and save money for the Social Security Trust Fund that may run out in ten years.

Trump will still claim he is making no cuts to benefits, and people will continually read media reports that DOGE is taking a wrecking ball to the program.

It seems Trump will still have to claim he will not change stipends or other major aspects and DOGE may not be able to enact the reforms that are needed to save the program for all seniors that use it.

That is unfortunate because some believe that reforms are the only way to ensure that Social Security will be around for the coming decades.

About the Author: Dr. Brent M. Eastwood

Brent M. Eastwood, PhD is the author of Don’t Turn Your Back On the World: a Conservative Foreign Policy and Humans, Machines, and Data: Future Trends in Warfare plus two other books. Brent was the founder and CEO of a tech firm that predicted world events using artificial intelligence. He served as a legislative fellow for U.S. Senator Tim Scott and advised the senator on defense and foreign policy issues. He has taught at American University, George Washington University, and George Mason University. Brent is a former U.S. Army Infantry officer. He can be followed on X @BMEastwood.