Former President Donald Trump released a campaign ad on Superbowl Sunday taking aim at Nikki Haley’s record on Social Security. The ad compares Haley’s retirement age and Social Security remarks with Trump’s, reminding voters that Trump is against any cuts or age increases.
The ad first shows a clip of Haley claiming she has never said she wants to raise the Social Security eligibility age. This immediately cuts to another clip during which Ms. Haley states that the retirement age needs to rise and that Social Security eligibility at 65 is “way too low.”
Haley called for changes to Social Security last March, and her defenders argue that she means this to apply only to people now in their 20s, and does intend to institute cuts for current retirees or people who are soon to retire. To people in their 20s, the GOP candidate says, “The game has changed. We’re going to do this completely differently.”
On the other hand, Trump declares that Social Security is off-limits and Republicans should not cut benefits by “a single penny.”
Donald Trump’s new ad is the second released by his campaign attacking Haley on retirement and Social Security. In January, Trump told voters that “Americans were promised a secure retirement. Nikki Haley’s plan ends that.” However, the former South Carolina Governor maintained that reform is needed, but emphasized once again that her plans will not impact current retirees.
Haley has been adamant that Social Security and Medicaid are on the verge of bankruptcy, and she accuses fellow Republicans, including Trump, of kicking the can down the road and leaving it to another President to tackle.
A spokesperson for Nikki Haley said that Trump’s attacks indicate he is worried about Haley’s popularity. Nachama Soloveichik described the White House race as a two-person contest with Ms. Haley’s conservative vision for a strong and powerful America pitted against Trump’s “obsession with the chaos and drama of the past.”
