Biden launches attack ad as Trump tries to walk back call for Social Security cuts

President Joe Biden's reelection campaign launched a digital ad late Monday spotlighting presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump's suggestion that he would be open to cutting Social Security and Medicare if he wins another White House term—comments his campaign scrambled to walk back.

The 20-second spot highlights Trump's televised interview with CNBC Monday morning, during which anchor Joe Kernen asked Trump how he would "handle" programs such as Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid if he's reelected in November.

"There is a lot you can do in terms of entitlements, in terms of cutting," Trump responded, adding that "theft and bad management" should also be addressed.

Trump's remarks spurred immediate backlash from advocacy groups, which noted that the former president has repeatedly supported attacks on Social Security and Medicare even while pledging to protect them. Every one of the budgets Trump's White House released during his first term called for Social Security and Medicare cuts.

In 2020, Trump called for slashing the tax that funds the two programs.

The Biden campaign's new ad contrasts Trump's repeated calls for cuts with the incumbent president's pledge to oppose Republican efforts to raise the retirement age and slash benefits. The White House has described the GOP-led push for a "fiscal commission" on Social Security and Medicare as a "death panel."

As Biden's team moved swiftly to spotlight and condemn Trump's comments, the former president's campaign rushed to recast them, claiming he was referring only to "cutting waste" in Social Security and Medicare.

An overwhelming majority of the U.S. public—81% of likely voters, according to one recent poll—is opposed to Social Security cuts, a fact that may help explain the Trump campaign's attempt to explain away the former president's comments.

Richard Fiesta, executive director of the Alliance for Retired Americans, said in a statement Monday that "every American senior needs to know that Donald Trump just renewed his vow to cut Social Security and Medicare if he gets back to the White House."

"Older Americans earned their Social Security and Medicare benefits after a lifetime of work and will not support any politician who tries to take those benefits away," said Fiesta.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), a vocal supporter of boosting Social Security benefits by requiring the wealthy to contribute more to the program, said Monday that "at a time when one out of four seniors are struggling to survive on less than $15,000 a year and nearly half of older workers have no retirement savings, our job is not to cut Social Security and Medicare."

"Our job must be to expand these programs so that every senior can retire with the dignity and respect they deserve," Sanders added. "And the way to do that is by demanding that the wealthiest people in America pay their fair share of taxes, not giving them another massive tax break as Trump has proposed."