News & Press

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - Donald Trump spent his campaign promising to protect Social Security, then turned around and tried to dismantle it, despite it being one of the most popular government programs in American history. So far, Trump has installed incompetent leadership, cut critical services, created a “backdoor for privatizing Social Security” with his billionaire-first budget, and nominated officials who want to “sunset” Social Security. Trump wants to rip away Oklahomans’ hard-earned benefits and leave our seniors stranded while lining the pockets of his billionaire donors and friends. 

On the 90th Anniversary of Social Security, Oklahoma Democratic Party Chair John Waldron released the following statement:

“When President Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law 90 years ago, he created a lifeline for Oklahomans with a promise: work hard, and you can retire with dignity and peace of mind. For generations, Social Security has lifted Oklahoma  families out of poverty and allowed our grandparents and loved ones to live out the rest of their lives free from financial worries. But rather than stick to his promise to protect Social Security, Donald Trump and his administration of billionaires are hellbent on erasing the program altogether. Trump and his billionaire buddies may never have to rely on Social Security to get by — but 800,000 hard-working Oklahomans do. For Democrats, promises made are promises kept, and that’s why we will always fight to protect Social Security.” 

Social Security is one of the most popular and successful programs in America — it’s no surprise that a majority of Americans oppose Trump’s dangerous campaign to gut it. Instead of listening to the American people, Trump has taken a wrecking ball to Social Security by: 

• Creating a “backdoor for privatizing Social Security”; 

• Slashing staff by half during a 50-year staffing low; 

• Jeopardizing rural Americans’ access to their hard-earned benefits; 

• Cutting critical services and stranding seniors; 

• Installing Frank Bisigiano — an incompetent, ultra-wealthy, Wall Street lackey — as the Social Security Administrator to help him dismantle the program. 

• Nominating EJ Antoni as BLS Commissioner after he made it clear he wants to “sunset the program” and echoed Trump’s view that Social Security is a “Ponzi scheme.”
  

Make no mistake: If Trump is allowed to finish his campaign to dismantle Social Security as we know it, 800,000 Oklahoma seniors will lose their hard-earned benefits and countless Oklahomans will be thrown into poverty. Social Security has helped people to retire with dignity for 90 years — Trump is hell-bent on destroying it.  

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