When President Joe Biden blasted some Republicans during his State of the Union address for taking aim at Social Security and Medicare, he encouraged doubters to contact his office for more information if they didn't believe his assertion.
The White House ultimately provided a list of specific GOP lawmakers and groups that had proposed either cutting the two programs or making the eligibility requirements more stringent.
But a new Politico/Morning Consult poll finds that GOP voters—particularly seniors—simply refuse to believe that Republicans want to cut Social Security and Medicare despite what Republican lawmakers keep saying.
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Overall, a 46% plurality of registered voters said they either believed that Republican lawmakers would try to cut the two programs (38%) or would successfully do it (8%), while 37% of voters said Republicans would not try to do so, and 17% said they didn't know.
Similarly, more independents believed Republicans would either try or actually cut the two programs—44% total—than said they wouldn't try, 34%, with 22% undecided.
But a solid 62% of GOP voters said Republicans would not try to cut Social Security and Medicare, while just 21% said they would either try (15%) or succeed in doing so (6%).
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As Morning Consult points out, partisan voters are mostly following their party's claims on Social Security and Medicare, with 69% of Democrats saying Republicans will try to cut the programs, while 62% of Republicans trust Republican claims that cuts are off the table.
But older voters, many of whom depend on the programs, are least likely to believe that Republicans plan to target Social Security and Medicare. Just 38% of baby boomers say the GOP will seek to cut the programs, compared to 49% of Gen Xers, 52% of millennials, and 56% of Gen Zers.
It's stunning that so many Republican and senior voters just refuse to believe what their own party leaders are telling them over and over again. As Daily Kos' Joan McCarter wrote:
Look at Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA), House Majority Leader, who really whiffed it last week after the speech. ... “We want to strengthen Social Security by ending a lot of those government checks to people staying at home rather than going to work,” Scalise said. It might be the first time a Republican has endorsed work requirements for a retirement program.
And right on cue, Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin has a Valentine's Day message for seniors about Social Security: "It's a legal Ponzi scheme. It operates the same way as any other Ponzi scheme, except that this is sanctioned by the US government. But it’s no less irresponsible than a Ponzi scheme.”
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