During a campaign rally in Atlanta, Georgia, 2024 Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris claimed 2024 Republican nominee and former President Donald Trump “intends to cut Social Security and Medicare.”

Verdict: Misleading

Trump’s official 2024 campaign platform states he will protect Social Security and Medicare. Some experts and the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) did indicates that Trump’s proposed tax cuts could speed up insolvency by years. The CRFB, though, did characterize Harris’ claims that Trump intends to cut spending on the two programs as misleading.

Fact Check:

A new six-day Reuters/Ipsos poll that closed on October 21 found Harris held a “marginal lead” over Trump at 46% to 43%, the outlet reported.

During her Atlanta campaign rally, Harris claimed Trump “intends to cut Social Security and Medicare.” A September document from the Harris campaign accused “Trump of proposing “deep cuts to Medicare and Medicaid.”

The claim is misleading. According to his official 2024 campaign platform, Trump has promised to “fight for and protect Social Security and Medicare with no cuts, including no changes to the retirement age.”

“President Trump has made absolutely clear that he will not cut one penny from Medicare or Social Security. American Citizens work hard their whole lives, contributing to Social Security and Medicare. These programs are promises to our Seniors, ensuring they can live their golden years with dignity. Republicans will protect these vital programs and ensure Economic Stability. We will work with our Great Seniors, in order to allow them to be active and healthy. We commit to safeguarding the future for our Seniors and all American families,” page 12 of Trump’s 2024 campaign platform reads.

The same page of the document reiterates that Trump will protect Social Security and Medicare.

“Social Security is a lifeline for millions of Retirees, yet corrupt politicians have robbed Social Security to fund their pet projects. Republicans will restore Economic Stability to ensure the long-term sustainability of Social Security.”

“Republicans will protect Medicare’s finances from being financially crushed by the Democrat plan to add tens of millions of new illegal immigrants to the rolls of Medicare. We vow to strengthen Medicare for future generations,” the document reads.

Likewise, an Oct. 10 piece from Bankrate comparing Harris and Trump’s platforms indicates Trump has promised to protect Medicare.

Bankrate reported Trump “is proposing reversing increases made to Medicare Part B premiums during Biden’s administration, prioritizing at-home care, supporting caregivers through tax credits and ‘reduced red tape,’ and ‘overturning disincentives that lead to care worker shortages.'” It cites a campaign statement on his website.

The outlet also indicated Trump has “suggested that waste, fraud and abuse within the system should be addressed to save money.”

In addition, Forbes reported that Trump has proposed eliminating taxes on Social Security benefits for seniors, referencing a July 31 post the former president shared on TRUTH Social. (RELATED: Walz Claims Trump Is ‘Asking For A Nationwide Abortion Ban’)

“SENIORS SHOULD NOT PAY TAX ON SOCIAL SECURITY!” Trump wrote at the time.

Furthermore, in an Oct. 17 blog post, the CRFB labeled the claims from the Harris campaign accusing Trump of proposing “deep cuts to Medicare and Medicaid” in his budgets while he was president as “largely false, misleading, and counterproductive.”

Looking specifically at Trump’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 Budget, CRFB found that his Medicare proposals would have “extend[ed] the solvency of the Medicare program by at least 25 years by reducing the cost of some parts of the Medicare HI program and moving funding for medical residents outside of Medicare.”

Trump’s FY 2021 budget also included “proposals to reduce bad debt reimbursements, lower excessive post-acute care payments, and adopt site-neutral payments that avoid paying hospitals and hospital-owned clinics more than private doctors’ offices for the same services.”

Finally, under Trump’s FY 2021 budget, “the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projected Medicare costs would have still grown by 89 percent between FY 2020 and 2030 compared to 104 percent under then-current law,” the CRFB indicated.

Similarly, an Oct. 21 blog post from the CRFB found Trump’s Social Security proposals would “advance insolvency by three years, from FY 2034 to FY 2031” and “increase Social Security’s annual shortfall by roughly 50 percent in FY 2035, from 3.6 to 4 percent of payroll.”

According to the same blog post, CRFB concluded that Trump’s proposals would also “increase Social Security’s ten-year cash shortfall by $2.3 trillion through FY 2035,” “lead to a 33 percent across-the-board benefit cut in 2035, up from the 23 percent CBO projects under current law,” and “require the equivalent of reducing current law benefits by about one-third or increasing revenue by about one-half to restore 75-year solvency.”

Trump has proposed ending taxes on Social Security benefits, tips, and overtime, as well as imposing tariffs and expanding deportations, which “would all widen Social Security’s cash deficits,” the CRFB noted.

A spokesperson for the CRFB directed Check Your Fact to both blog posts.

Multiple experts offered their perspectives on Harris’ claim with Check Your Fact.

Romina Boccia, director of budget and entitlement policy at the libertarian Cato Institute, labeled Harris’ claim as “a politically charged misleading statement.”

“Vice President Harris’s assertion that Trump intends to cut Social Security and Medicare is a politically charged misleading statement that overlooks the critical issue of these programs’ financial unsustainability. The reality is that Social Security and Medicare face significant funding shortfalls and are on an unsustainable path—with automatic benefit cuts triggering when their trust funds are depleted,” Boccia said.

“Discussions about changes to these programs are often framed as cuts, but most reformers are essentially talking about the need to slow the growth in spending on these programs to address their fiscal insolvency and avoid a US debt crisis.”

“Trump merely offered up suggestions to reduce waste and improper spending on Social Security and Medicare during his presidency and has stated he would not cut them in a second term. Regardless of who wins the presidency, both programs are slated to become insolvent in the early 2030s and Washington will need to act to avert automatic benefit cuts under current law,” she added.

Ben Ritz, vice president of policy development and director of the center-left Progressive Policy Institute’s Center for Funding America’s Future, said it is Trump’s tax cuts that will affect Social Security and Medicare.

“Although he has not proposed specific cuts to Social Security or Medicare, both programs already face significant funding shortfalls and Trump has proposed to make those shortfalls worse with trillions of dollars in new tax cuts. Because Social Security and Medicare are by far the biggest federal spending programs, Trump would either have to cut the programs deeply to make the math work with his tax cuts or increase budget deficits to the point that our economy would experience a level of inflation that dwarfs anything experienced during the Biden administration,” Ritz said.

Brian Blase, president of Paragon Health Institute and former special assistant to the president for Economic Policy at the White House’s National Economic Council in the Trump administration, told Check Your Fact that Trump “has said repeatedly that he will preserve Medicare and Social Security.”

“President Trump has said repeatedly that he will preserve Medicare and Social Security and not reduce benefits for enrollees. He has also said that he will target waste, fraud, and abuse throughout the government, which is present in all government programs,” Blase said.

Brendan Duke, senior director of economic policy at the liberal Center for American Progress Action Fund, said Trump has repeatedly “proposed measures” that would impact Social Security and Medicare.

“There’s a huge difference between what Donald Trump says on the campaign trail and what his policies would actually do. Donald Trump has repeatedly proposed measures that would accelerate and deepen cuts to Social Security and Medicare benefits,” Duke said.

“A recent analysis by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget found that his tax proposals would accelerate the date the Social Security Trust Fund runs out of money from 2034 to 2031 and deepen the cuts to benefits to about one third of current benefit levels. His policies would have a similar effect on the Medicare Trust Fund—accelerating insolvency and deepening benefit cuts. Trump’s interest in cutting off funding for the Social Security trust fund is not new. He made proposals that would produce similar effects in 2020,” he added.

Check Your Fact has also contacted Trump and Harris campaign spokespersons for comment.