Earlier this week, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) made headlines when he suggested that after enacting a massive tax cut, Republicans would attempt to reign in deficits next year by cutting spending on entitlement programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid.
“We’re going to have to get back next year at entitlement reform, which is how you tackle the debt and the deficit,” said Ryan during a radio interview with Ross Kaminsky. Ryan specifically mentioned that he was trying to convince President Donald Trump to change his position on Medicare, the popular government health insurance program for the elderly. Before taking office, Trump repeatedly promised—in interviews, on the campaign trail, and on Twitter—not to cut Medicare. You can see a sampling of those promises in the video above.
I was the first & only potential GOP candidate to state there will be no cuts to Social Security, Medicare & Medicaid. Huckabee copied me.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 7, 2015
Of course, Trump also repeatedly pledged not to cut Medicaid, which provides health insurance for lower-income Americans. He’s already attempted to break that promise, backing a series of failed Obamacare repeal bills that would have slashed hundreds of millions of dollars from Medicaid.
