The conservative group Club for Growth is airing a new ad attacking former President Donald Trump’s positions on Social Security, as its Washington, D.C., golf course hosts the LIV Golf Tournament this weekend.
The ad, first shared with CBS News, is from the group’s invitational suite and is a five-figure buy that will air Saturday and Sunday on The CW in the DC market, which organizes the tournament. The CW Network is partially owned by CBS parent Paramount Global. It will also be displayed digitally and geo-targeted around the course.
The site is critical of Trump’s stance on Social Security reform, comparing it to that of President Joe Biden — both of whom said they would not touch it, though the Social Security trust fund is expected to run out in the next decade if nothing is done. to extend it. The ad refers to a report by the Social Security Trust Fund Board of Trustees that says benefits for seniors could be cut by 23% after 2033, if the trust fund is depleted.
“With Donald Trump, it’s par for the course,” says the ad’s narrator. “Another scheme to cheat people out of what they earn.”
accrual reforms, and Where do politicians stand on this issue, has become a recurring topic in the field of avowed Republican presidential contenders and hopefuls. While there have been two instances in the past in which Trump has suggested he would consider cutting benefits, he has since said he would leave entitlement programs alone and claimed in March that “under no circumstances should Republicans vote to cut a dime from Medicare or Social Care.” protection.”
This election cycle, Trump has used the issue to attack Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who announced his candidacy on Wednesday and voted for budget proposals as a congressman that would raise the retirement age and set up committees to evaluate reforms. As a candidate in 2012, DeSantis showed his support in an interview for “restructuring” Social Security in a way that would be financially sustainable.
“He wanted to destroy it and he voted against it three times,” Trump said in a speech in Davenport, Iowa, in March. “I will not cut Medicare and I will not cut Social Security.”
In the Trump campaign’s reaction to the ad, they continued to go after DeSantis, stating His ad is full of glitches on Twitter Spaces.
A Trump campaign spokesperson said: “Rookie mistakes, missteps – this is DeSantis floundering to find a way to save his moribund campaign. So now his political patron is trying to lampoon voters and lying blatantly in order to rig the election.” Stephen Cheung.
On Thursday’s radio show, DeSantis alleged that Trump is “cherry-picking” and “gouging” votes and referred to Trump’s support for raising the retirement age to 70 in his 2000 book “The America We Deserve.”
“He’s attacking me right now because of some of these budget votes where you have hundreds of pages of different policy proposals,” DeSantis said on “The Matt Murphy Radio Show” in Nashville.
Former Vice President Mike Pence, who is considering running for president in 2024, has talked about making changes to entitlement programs. In an interview with the Des Moines Register in Iowa on Wednesday, he said raising the retirement age “definitely should be on the table” but the changes should not be made for anyone over 40. Nikki Haley, the already-announced candidate, has proposed reforming benefits for younger generations, specifically changing the retirement age.
The Growth Club group aired a previous ad criticizing Trump’s positions on Social Security, and has clashed with the former president since the 2022 midterm elections, as the group and Trump backed opposing GOP candidates in the Republican primaries. The group has yet to endorse the 2024 Republican primary, however Hosted a February retreat for donors of potential candidates and advertisers. Trump was not invited.
The LIV Golf, which is backed by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, is set to appear at two other Trump golf courses in Bedminster, New Jersey and Miami.