Former President Donald Trump is once again using tactics similar to those he employed after the 2020 election — this time, to attack Social Security. Instead of voter fraud, his focus now is on spreading claims of widespread Social Security fraud, with no strong evidence to back them up.
Experts are saying this is a political move meant to justify major cuts to one of America’s most important benefits programs.
Just like he tried to discredit the 2020 election results with unfounded claims of dead people voting or undocumented immigrants influencing outcomes, Trump is now making similar claims about Social Security.
He’s suggesting that “millions” of people over the age of 100 are still receiving benefits fraudulently. However, those claims have already been debunked by multiple fact-checkers and government reports.
On Tuesday, Trump signed a White House memo directing federal prosecutors to investigate Social Security fraud. He also instructed the Social Security Administration’s inspector general to look into cases of recipients over 100 years old whose records might have discrepancies.
The memo is seen as a way to create the illusion of a widespread problem, much like the hundreds of affidavits he used in court after the 2020 election, most of which were dismissed by judges for lacking evidence.
A closer look at Social Security fraud shows that the problem exists, but not on the scale that Trump claims. According to an inspector general report, between 2013 and 2018, about $33.5 million in benefits were misdirected due to fraud.
While that sounds like a lot, it’s a tiny fraction of the $1.5 trillion that Social Security pays out each year. Most of the fraud involves someone redirecting benefits to a different bank account, not fake accounts for non-existent people.
Trump’s administration, according to reports from The New York Times and other outlets, also placed over 6,000 legal immigrants who had obtained Social Security numbers onto the “death master file,” which is typically used to record deceased individuals.
By declaring these people dead in government records, it made it difficult for them to access financial services like bank accounts and credit cards. This action has raised major concerns among immigrant communities and civil rights groups.
One of Trump’s more repeated talking points is that immigrants are draining the Social Security system. But research says the opposite. Immigrants — especially undocumented ones — help the program financially.
A 2022 report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy showed that undocumented immigrants paid over $25.7 billion in Social Security taxes. Despite paying into the system, many of these workers are not eligible to claim benefits, meaning their contributions help keep the program afloat.
The bigger picture behind Trump’s actions seems to be a long-term effort to cut Social Security. The program is popular among both Republicans and Democrats, making it politically risky to reduce benefits openly.
But by creating a sense of crisis — portraying the system as being overrun by fraud — Trump may be trying to build public support for drastic changes.
This strategy echoes what he did after the 2020 election: use fear and misinformation to stir up support and push an agenda that would otherwise be too controversial. Whether it’s elections or entitlement programs, the pattern is the same: claim fraud, generate confusion, and try to reshape public opinion.
Many experts believe that this latest move could have real consequences for the most vulnerable Americans.
People who rely on Social Security to pay for food, medicine, and housing may now face new hurdles, especially if investigations lead to wrongly frozen benefits or increased bureaucracy.
Critics warn that using the federal government’s resources to chase after largely exaggerated claims is not just wasteful, but harmful. Instead of helping strengthen Social Security, these actions might actually weaken trust in it.
In the end, this could open the door to cuts that will affect millions of retired and disabled Americans who depend on the program.
Trump’s track record shows that even without solid proof, the narrative can still stick, especially if repeated often enough.
With the 2024 election season heating up, Social Security may become the next battleground in a political fight where facts often take a back seat to fear.
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