Trump Attacks Biden on Social Security: Campaign Update

Aug 3, 2020

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(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump signaled a new attack Democratic nominee Joe Biden’s record on Social Security. Nevada may soon become the eighth state to mail all registered voters a ballot. And a boater took a Trump flag a little too close to the SpaceX capsule.

There are 92 days until the election.

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Trump Hits Biden Over Social Security in New Ad (6:30 a.m.)

The Trump campaign is dipping into Biden’s long Senate career to attack him over Social Security.

A Facebook ad features a brief clip from Biden on the Senate floor discussing a proposal he put together with Republican Senator Chuck Grassley in 1984 to freeze government spending, including Social Security, for one year to help fight the budget deficit.

“I tried with Senator Grassley back in the ‘80s to freeze all government spending, including Social Security, including everything,” Biden says in the clip, which is from a C-SPAN video of him speaking about balancing the federal budget in November of 1995.

The ad claims that Biden would “destroy Social Security” and turn America “into a Big Government Socialist Nation,” and that Trump has “kept his promise to protect Social Security.”

In his presidential campaign, Biden proposes boosting Social Security benefits for retirees who have low lifetime earnings as well as for widows and widowers.

Trump, who said that he would not “cut Social Security like every other Republican” during the 2016 primary, has proposed cuts to two programs run by the Social Security Administration -- Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income -- but they were not enacted.

Nevada Moves Closer to All-Mail Election in November

Nevada may soon become the eighth state sending every voter a ballot in November.

On Sunday, Democratic state lawmakers passed a bill on a party-line vote that would automatically mail every active voter a ballot. It now goes to Democratic Governor Steve Sisolak, who is expected to sign it into law.

The state would join California, Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Utah, Vermont, Washington and the District of Columbia in automatically mailing all voters a ballot this November.

The bill also expands who can collect and turn in ballots, a practice sometimes referred to as “ballot harvesting.”

Trump, who has criticized mail-in ballots in recent months, said the bill’s passage is “outrageous” and threatened a lawsuit.

Republican Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske also objected to the bill, which empowers the governor to override her on election procedures during a state of emergency.

Boater Takes Trump Flag Right Past SpaceX Capsule

A private boat flying a Trump flag was among those that came close to a SpaceX capsule after it splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico.

After the Crew Dragon capsule with NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley aboard had the first U.S. splashdown in decades, boaters swarmed the area.

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine told reporters that the Coast Guard successfully cleared a landing area for the capsule, but it will need to “do better” during the next splashdown to ensure private watercraft don’t get close.

Unauthorized boats near the splashdown site can complicate recovery efforts, especially if something goes wrong. The spacecraft also releases toxic chemicals during the splashdown which could hurt the boaters.

Coming Up:

Trump will meet with tech workers at 11:30 a.m. at the White House before signing an executive order.

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