Newsweek: on Social Security

Joe Biden: Some Republicans want to cut Social Security and Medicare

"Anybody who doubts it, contact my office," Biden said. "I'll give you a copy of the proposal." The president was referring to a proposal last year from Republican Senator Rick Scott that would have required Congress to reauthorize the programs every five years and would have made Medicare and Social Security vulnerable to cuts.

On Tuesday, the president suggested that Republicans in the chamber were agreeing not to cut Social Security and Medicare. "So folks, as we all apparently agree, Social Security and Medicare is off the books now, right?" Biden said. "We got unanimity!" Biden shouted over cheers in the chamber.

Joe Biden: Public commitment from both parties: no cuts to entitlements

During his speech [Republicans shouted "No!" when Biden mentioned a sunset plan, and Biden responded], "As we all apparently agree, Social Security and Medicare is off the books now, right?" Biden said. "We got unanimity!" Biden shouted over cheers in the chamber.

That moment led to praise from social media users, who argued that Biden had successfully baited Republicans into making a public commitment not to cut Social Security and Medicare. [One OpEd writer] wrote: "Dark Brandon gets Republicans to cheerily promise not to cut Social Security and Medicare live during the #SOTU speech!"

"This rather savvy usage of the public bully pulpit, in a nutshell, is the argument for continuing to have and televise SOTU," tweeted 2020 Pulitzer prize nominee Soraya McDonald, sharing a video of the moment.

Chris Pappas: No cuts to Social Security & Medicare to sustain tax cuts

JD Vance: Get more people in labor force, to bolster Social Security

Vance indicated that America needs more people working to finance the longevity of social security: "You get more revenue from more people being in the labor force, from higher productivity growth, from higher wages, from transitioning young people who are not working into the work force," he pointed out.

Asked if [he supported] raising taxes to support social security, Vance said he was not against the idea but questioned whether that would solve the challenge long-term "with demographics that are getting worse and worse [we can't[ solve the problem by taxing rich people. You have to fix the underlying issue."

JD Vance: No cuts; privatizing social security is a bad idea

Two years ago, the HuffPost suggested that Vance may have in the past supported social security cuts citing an old blog post where he noted that entitlement programs were widening the federal budget deficits. Vance, though, said that was not his view. "I don't support cuts to social security or Medicare and think privatizing social security is a bad idea," HuffPost quoted him saying to the publication.

JD Vance: Problems with the trust fund may be overstated

During that campaign, Vance also said that Americans needed more workers to help finance social security. "We've got to, frankly, stop spending so much on welfare benefits and start having a lot more workers who are paying into the system," he was quoted as saying by AARP.