After Trump Just Threatened to Cut Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, Here’s How Americans Are Reacting

At a news conference Tuesday, President Donald Trump made comments about Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid that alarmed many Americans.

Trump said a Democrat gave this answer about the government funding bill: “It means death.”

He continued: “There’s nothing about death. Theirs is death because they’re going to lose Medicaid, they’re going to lose Social Security, they’re going to lose Medicare, all those things are going to go away because the whole country would be bankrupt and you wouldn’t have any kind of health insurance.”

atrupar / Via x.com

In response, Democratic strategist Doug Gordon told Newsweek: “No one ever ‘wins’ a shutdown. But it certainly looks bad for Republicans for President Johnson to have the House of Representatives on a taxpayer-funded month-long vacation while Americans are about to suffer the biggest spike in health care costs in more than a decade.”

And Republican strategist Matt Klink, speaking about the government shutdown, told the outlet: “This is a fight the GOP is comfortable with. Democrats overplayed their hand by trying to force a major policy change after a funding deadline.”

Related: RFK Jr.’s Latest Comment About Pregnancy Has The Internet Like ‘That’s Not How Women’s Bodies Work’

On Reddit, people reacted to these comments and didn’t hold back. Here are some of the most brutally honest responses from Americans:

1. “I’m fucking angry. They demanded I pay for these programs with the understanding that they would be there if I needed them. They’re stealing our money.”

—the_world_is_a_marginal neighborhood

2. “I specifically work with people who have dual Medicare and Medicaid plans. This is going to hurt a lot of people. Seniors, disabled people, poor people, children. My own mental health is suffering tremendously because of everything he’s doing.”

—franticblueberry

3. “I’m studying accounting right now. There’s no point in ‘cutting’ Social Security and Medicare because it has nothing to do with funding the government. It’s money we pay to have it when we need it. If the government ‘cuts’ it, then it’s stealing from us.”

—jabberbabywocky

4. “I will never stop telling my in-laws that they voted to cut their daughter’s Medicaid. When they ask me why we can’t make the trip to visit them. We don’t have the money because you voted to cut health care.”

—no-good-shoe

Related: Someone ‘removed Trump’s orange makeup to see what he looks like underneath,’ and the photo is going megaviral

5. “I am a stage 4 cancer patient receiving SSDI, Medicaid, and SNAP. I paid into these programs until my diagnosis, and I need to benefit from them or I will literally die. I just left the thread about how they are canceling SNAP for the month of November due to the shutdown. I did not vote for this.”

“I already have to supplement my government assistance with GoFundMe donations and have done so for the last two years. Now I’m not going to eat for the month of November, and if they take away my Medicaid, I’m literally going to die. Screw every single piece of shit that voted for this.

It doesn’t even make me feel good knowing that they are going to suffer with me. Nobody deserves this. And they’re going to blame the Democrats anyway. This is so fucked up. Very, very fucked up. God, I haven’t been this angry in years, and I’m not looking forward to the moment when the anger fades and the panic and despair set in.”

—carving my elbows

6. “I’ve spent my entire adult life convinced that there won’t be a dime in any of them by the time I’m old enough to use them. So, for once, I shrug my shoulders. If anything, I’ll speed it up by a few years.”

—basroill

7. “If you think that can’t happen, just take a look at the East Wing of the White House.”

—old creaker

8. “If they’re cutting what they’re supposed to pay, then they need to cut what they get out of my paychecks.”

—it’s also a great deal

Related: ‘Put this on a T-shirt’: People praise this anti-ICE protester’s three-word response to being tear-gassed at L.A. protests

9. “Listen, guys. Yes, Republicans are cutting funding that will cause millions of children to die preventably abroad and cutting healthcare for their families in the US. But at least Republicans are spending $40 billion to rescue a failed right-wing libertarian economy in Argentina AND build a $250 million ballroom for Trump.”

—anti_shill_cannon

10. “He also said he would end the war in Ukraine on day one, and that food and fuel would be cheaper on day one. I don’t believe anything he says.”

—grafiksguru

11. “He is currently demanding $230 million from the Department of Justice. Do I care what your opinion is? He is doing what he always wanted to do here: gain power, enrich himself, and get revenge on people who were mean (or just not ingratiating enough) to him. Everything else, including destroying the government, is just a joke on the part of the far right, who have always tried to destroy the government.”

—ncc74656m

12. “I want a refund of every fucking cent, plus the interest I have had to pay to this corrupt system, of which I will never get the benefit!”

—unicornfarts1111

13. “Remember when Biden said, ‘Republicans want to cut Social Security and Medicare,’ like 1,000 times, including almost every State of the Union speech he ever gave, and the GOP went crazy calling him a liar.”

—cpatkyanks24

Related: MAGA Really, Really, Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Doesn’t Like This Army Veteran’s Now-Viral Speech

14. “He wants to use the current shutdown as a crisis so he can attribute these cuts to Democrats, despite controlling all three branches of government and both chambers.”

—qtsexkitten

15. “I work in Medicare health insurance and have for six years. I’ve talked to people from all walks of life who call and desperately need help. And then as a manager, I heard thousands of calls on top of that. You have no idea how much people on Medicare/Medicaid are suffering. MANY people over 65 and with disabilities have to choose between electricity, rent, and receiving life-saving medications or medical care. Something like $15 may not seem like a lot to most people, but for them, every little savings counts. “The stories I have heard are nothing short of tragic.”

“This is nothing short of pure evil. We have the money to provide free healthcare for everyone and pay for the highest healthcare per capita in the world. The healthcare system is currently broken. What Trump is saying here is that he wants to take this broken system and destroy it, period.”

—DeusUictorio

16. “I’m 79. I’m still employed full time. I’m thinking I can work one more year. Then when I retire, it’ll be Social Security and my savings. No more nice UHC insurance; it’ll be what’s left of Medicare. This is pretty scary.”

-cyclist

17. And finally, “This is like when the waiter brings you your fajitas and says, ‘Don’t touch the pan, it’s hot,’ and then you touch the pan and it burns you. Except with democracy. Plus, the plate doesn’t have fajitas, it has sizzling shit. Then the waiter grabs you by the pussy.”

—ginger of the year

What do you think? Let us know in the comments.

Also on In the News: This White Guy Protesting ICE Somehow Gave the National Guard the Most Humble Speech You’ll Ever Hear, and It’s So, So Good

Also in the news: A Trump supporter said they’re “living on credit cards” and begged him to send a stimulus check amid rising costs… and the internet reacted exactly how you think

Also in the news: ‘WHY ARE PEOPLE SO STUPID’: This MAGA Supporter Shared 10 Reasons He Regrets Voting for Trump, and the Internet Isn’t Impressed

Read it on BuzzFeed.com