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PolitiFact faces backlash for explaining why Trump 'kept' campaign promise to not cut entitlement programs
Published July 23, 2020
PolitiFact is facing intense backlash for its explanation as to why President Trump "kept" his campaign promise of not cutting entitlement programs.
"As a candidate, Donald Trump promised to make no cuts to Social Security. As president, he has periodically proposed policies that would cut aspects of the program, but so far, none of them have been enacted," PolitiFact senior correspondent Louis Jacobson wrote on Thursday.
"The president's budget is a non-binding proposal, and his suggested cuts have been consistently ignored by Congress. That has helped Trump escape getting a Promise Broken for a policy he continued to advocate throughout his term. Trump was unable to enact his proposal, and Social Security was not cut. Because we rate outcomes and not intentions, Trump gets a Promise Kept," Jacobson continued.
The fact-checking website raised eyebrows, however.
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"During his 2016 campaign, Trump said 'I’m not going to cut Social Security like every other Republican and I’m not going to cut Medicare or Medicaid.' In the end, Trump proposed cuts, but Congress didn’t bite. Promise Kept," PolitiFact summarized.
The ruling was widely panned on social media.
"Congrats @Politifact. You’re officially worthless," Democratic activist Jason Kander reacted.
"I’m obviously too dumb for this, can someone explain it to me, how Trump fighting for years to take away Medicaid from millions (and still suing the ACA) means he has 'kept his promise', just because Democrats stopped him?" The Appeal: Political Report founding editor Daniel Nichanian asked.
"I made a new years resolution to lose weight and a shark bit off my leg, resolution fulfilled," Forbes reporter Andrew Solender quipped.
"Trump promised to get Coronavirus cases down to zero in a week, but Coronavirus didn’t bite, Promise Kept," former Pelosi adviser Jesse Lee similarly wrote.
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PolitiFact later defended its ruling, acknowledging it was a "weird one."
"For promise tracking, we rate based on verifiable outcomes not trying. Even though he tried to change it, because he ultimately didn't, it's still promised kept. It's a weird one with this particular promise," PolitiFact tweeted.
https://www.foxnews.com/media/politifact-trump-promise-kept-entitlement-programs