Donald Trump claimed he had wiped out taxes on Social Security, but his own aide quickly stepped in to correct him. The president’s statement clashed with reality and highlighted how even his team struggles to back up his repeated false claims.
“Last month, I signed ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ and allowed no tax on Social Security for our great seniors,” Trump said, speaking from the Oval Office. “No tax on Social Security for our seniors.”
Trump made the statement while marking the 90th anniversary of Social Security. He has repeatedly boasted about ending taxation on the program, but that is not what the law he signed in July actually does.
Moments after Trump’s claim, his own staffer, Will Scharf, Staff Secretary, explained the law and corrected the record. “It also obviously mentions the fact that as part of the ‘One Big, Beautiful Bill’ a vast majority of our senior citizens are no longer paying taxes on their Social Security benefits as you promised in your campaign,” Scharf said on camera. He stumbled over the words and settled on “vast majority,” indirectly contradicting the president while avoiding a full explanation.
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Despite the correction, the White House doubled down online. On X, the official White House account wrote that Trump was strengthening Social Security with “No tax on Social Security for seniors.”
The president repeated the claim on Truth Social: “Last month, I signed the One Big Beautiful Bill, and allowed No Tax on Social Security for our great seniors.”
In reality, the massive GOP bill does not eliminate Social Security taxes. It temporarily increases a deduction for seniors. Those over 65 can claim a $6,000 deduction, which gradually phases out for higher earners. The Tax Policy Center found that only about half of Social Security recipients would benefit. Many already do not pay federal income tax because their income is low. Others earn too much to qualify for the deduction. The law is also set to expire at the end of Trump’s second term.
Trump’s Social Security Administration Commissioner, Frank Bisignano, came under fire last month for sending an email to recipients claiming the law would “eliminate federal income taxes on Social Security benefits for most beneficiaries.” Democrats said their offices were flooded with confused questions and demanded the SSA issue a correction. Bisignano joined Trump Thursday in the Oval Office but avoided explaining the law’s details, instead lavishing praise on the president.
The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget also warned in June that the GOP tax law could accelerate Social Security insolvency by a year, moving the projected exhaustion date to 2032.
Featured image via Screengrab
