President Trump spreads misinformation at White House press conference (Washington Post)
Social Security turned 90 this week, a milestone that should have been celebrated with reverence. However, the Trump administration marked the occasion by perpetuating misleading claims about its handling of the program. From manipulating statistics to spreading untruths about immigrants, this administration is playing a cynical game with one of America’s most cherished federal programs.
While signing a proclamation for Social Security’s 90th anniversary, Trump made several astounding statements. He said that Social Security was “going to die very shortly,” but that his new SSA chief, Frank Bisignano, had effectively saved the program by instituting draconian cuts to the agency’s staff and resources, which have hobbled customer service and obstructed Americans’ access to their earned benefits. Trump also uttered this completely false, mini-word salad: “In 4 or 5 years (Social Security) is going to go bust, but not any more it’s not.” (See below the actual truth about Social Security’s finances.)
The President, who has promised ‘not to touch’ Social Security, once again demonstrated his ignorance about how the program really works. The program is not “going to die” in 4 or 5 years. Furthermore, alleged cost-savings by the Social Security Administration have nothing to do with whether the program itself remains financially healthy. Not only did Trump make blatant misstatements about the facts surrounding Social Security, he used the anniversary as an opportunity to scapegoat undocumented workers (who actually pay into the system, but cannot collect benefits).
As our president, Max Richtman, reminds us, “We wish we could simply celebrate, but the 90-year history of Social Security shows that we must always defend the program from those who would privatize or outright eliminate it.” Richtman emphasizes, “Social Security is part of the fabric of American life and must be preserved for the future.” (We commemorated the 90th anniversary with the release of our new documentary, “Social Security: 90 Years Strong,” which is streaming on multiple platforms.)
Manipulating Metrics to Rewrite Reality
At the forefront of the administration’s disinformation campaign is Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano, who joined President Trump in the Oval Office to tout what they called a “miraculous” turnaround at the Social Security Administration (SSA). Citing supposed improvements like reduced call wait times and streamlined customer service, they painted a rosy picture that crumbles under scrutiny.
For instance, Trump claimed that call wait times had reached an “all-time high” of 42 minutes during the Biden administration but had dramatically improved since his return to office. The truth? By the end of 2024, under Biden-appointed Commissioner Martin O’Malley, wait times on SSA’s 1-800 number had already dropped below 13 minutes, accompanied by a 30-year low in the disability claims backlog and a 6% productivity increase across the agency (Government Exec). These achievements were the result of funding from the Inflation Reduction Act and innovative reforms implemented long before Trump re-entered the White House.
Under Bisignano, however, the very calculation of call wait times has been redefined to artificially inflate performance. Kathleen Romig, director of Social Security policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, exposed this manipulation, explaining that the new metrics exclude the time callers who use the callback feature wait for a response.
“They say that the stat is the ‘average speed to answer,’ but that includes the average speed to speak to a human being and the average speed to a self-service option,” Romig said. “As soon as you’ve pressed ‘3’ for whatever service, you have stopped waiting for the purposes of [Bisignano’s] stat, and none of the rest of it counts” (Government Exec).
This statistical sleight of hand isn’t just misleading—it’s a breach of public trust. Social Security is the bedrock of retirement income and disability support for millions of Americans. Misrepresenting its operations does a disservice to the very people the SSA is supposed to serve.
“I think that when the president of the United States and his leadership team repeatedly lie about the biggest program in the federal government and the most important program for older people in this country, over and over again… it undermines trust in the program and undermines support for the program.” – Kathleen Romig, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Cherry-Picking Data
The administration didn’t stop at manipulating customer service metrics—it also peddled false claims about waste and fraud. Trump and Bisignano boasted that “nearly 275,000 illegal aliens” had been kicked off Social Security, another statement that wilts under scrutiny.
Romig pointed out that this claim likely conflates several unrelated issues, including legal immigrants losing their status and Musk-era bureaucratic errors where thousands of legitimate Social Security beneficiaries were falsely flagged as deceased.
“Most immigrants cannot collect Social Security benefits—short of becoming a permanent resident or citizen—but they still contribute to the program’s trust fund through payroll taxes,” Romig explained (Government Exec). By undercutting immigrant workers’ contributions, Trump’s policies have, in fact, “accelerated the depletion date of the trust fund” by reducing its revenue base.
Social Security is not Going Broke
To truly take stock of Social Security’s situation at 90, we must look squarely at the looming challenges—and how the Trump administration’s choices have made matters worse, not better. Social Security’s combined trust disability and retirement trust fund will become depleted in 2034, absent any preventative action from Congress. After that, only 81% of benefits will be payable, which the latest trustees’ report attributes in part to recent legislative changes (AP via Washington Post). But the program is not “going broke” or “dying.”
A key aggravating factor is the Trump administration’s Unfair, Ugly Bill. While Trump has repeated that his law “will eliminate taxes on federal Social Security benefits,” the reality is far different. As Brendan Duke of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities explained, the new law only adds a temporary tax deduction for people 65 and over. It does not eliminate or mitigate taxes on Social Security benefits. More urgently, Duke warned, “The new tax law signed by Trump in July will accelerate the insolvency of Social Security” (AP).
Meanwhile, the program serves nearly 69 million Americans today—a number expected to rise to 82 million by Social Security’s 100th anniversary. AARP CEO Myechia Minter-Jordan rightly insisted: “As we look ahead to the next 90 years of Social Security, it’s critical that it remains strong for generations to come.” Yet Trump has not proposed a real, long-term solution to shore up the program, instead defaulting to misdirection and political theater.
Staffing cuts have further threatened the Social Security Administration’s ability to serve the public. According to the Associated Press, “the agency cut more than 7,000 from its workforce this year as part of the Department of Government Efficiency’s effort to reduce the size of the government.” These brutal reductions have led unions and advocacy organizations to sue over concerns about service quality and privacy.
The Privatization Mirage
The specter of Social Security privatization has returned, even as Americans have consistently rejected such plans in the past. (George W. Bush tried and failed to privatize the program in 2005.) Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said out loud that a provision of the Unfair, Ugly Bill creating special savings account for children was a “backdoor for privatizing Social Security.” Trump’s nominee to head the Bureau of Labor of Statistics, E.J. Antoni, told a radio station in Texas last December that Social Security was a “Ponzi scheme” and should be “sunsetted” for future generations.
Glenn Hubbard, a top economist in the George W. Bush administration, reflected a common elite view: “We will have to make a choice. If you want Social Security benefits to look like they are today, we’re going to have to raise everyone’s taxes a lot. And if that’s what people want, you pay the high price and you move on.”
Others, like Rachel Greszler of the right-wing Heritage Foundation, advocate for “partial and optional privatization” and cutting benefits, but such ideas would undermine Social Security’s fundamental nature as a social insurance program.
Meanwhile, several Democratic members of Congress have put forward legislation to shore up the program’s finances by demanding that the wealthy begin paying their fair share in Social Security contributions — eschewing benefit cuts as punitive for current and future beneficiaries. We have endorsed many of these bills and continue to support them.
Honoring the Legacy of Social Security
The 90th anniversary of Social Security should have been a moment purely to honor the program that has lifted millions of Americans out of poverty. Instead, Trump used it as an excuse to propagate misinformation designed to score political points. The truth matters, especially when it comes to an institution as vital and enduring as Social Security.
Our job is to continue to advocate — from the halls of Congress to town halls across the country — for Social Security. The people’s job is to continue letting their voices be heard loud and clear, as we saw in this spring’s “Hands Off Social Security” protests. When the public pushes back, the Trump administration takes notice, reversing some of the most egregious policies at the Social Security Administration. We must remain vigilant if Social Security is to survive intact.
FDR’s Secretary of Labor, Frances Perkins, who was a prime mover in the creation of the program in 1935, said it best: “Social security is so firmly embedded in the American psychology today that no politician, no political party, could possibly destroy this act and still maintain our democratic system.”
Watch our new documentary, “Social Security: 90 Years Strong” here. View the 3-minute trailer here.