President Trump told Congress in a recent prime time address that millions of people over 140 years old were getting social security payments every month. The claim got lots of attention, but it’s not true.
Trump’s own social security commissioner has said as much.
Social Security databases may indeed lack a recorded death for folks born too long ago to still be alive, but that is a separate system from the payment records.
Social Security records show that nationwide only 89,000 people 99 years of age or older are getting payments.
Cardinal & Pine political correspondent Michael McElroy takes a look at the reality and why Trump’s disinformation could be a pretext for significant cuts to payments seniors rely on to survive.
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