During his Tuesday address to Congress, President Donald Trump raised eyebrows by alleging widespread mismanagement and potential fraud within the Social Security program. He accused the system of harboring records of beneficiaries far beyond a plausible lifespan, citing government data that he claimed listed millions of recipients over 100 years old—some supposedly exceeding 160, and one individual even reaching a staggering 360 years of age.
“We’re apparently living in a nation of immortals,” Trump joked, glancing toward Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. with a smirk. He quickly turned serious, arguing that these payments drain resources from Social Security and undermine the country’s financial health. “This is a problem we can’t ignore—it’s costing us big time,” he insisted.
The president’s remarks echo recent statements from billionaire Elon Musk, who was present at the speech. Musk, a key figure in the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has claimed that an initial audit of Social Security records uncovered payments to individuals as old as 150. He backed up his assertion by sharing an image online of what he described as a Social Security spreadsheet, revealing over 17 million records of people aged 100 or older with no recorded death—a figure that has sparked both skepticism and alarm.
DOGE, tasked with slashing $2 trillion in wasteful federal spending, recently gained limited access to the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) internal systems. A Treasury Department official clarified to Congress that Musk and his team have “read-only” privileges within the payment infrastructure, stressing that the SSA remains focused on protecting the system’s integrity.
This isn’t the first time questions about supercentenarian records have surfaced. Back in 2015, the SSA, alongside its inspector general, investigated cases of individuals listed as 112 or older with no death records. That probe identified 6.5 million such entries, though most were presumed deceased based on other data. Of those, payments were being sent to 266 individuals. However, further review suggested only 13 were genuinely over 112, while the rest involved clerical errors or outdated information.
Trump’s latest comments have reignited debate over the efficiency and oversight of one of America’s cornerstone safety nets, leaving lawmakers and the public to grapple with whether the issue stems from fraud, incompetence, or simply a glitch in the system.
COMMENTARY:
I want to start by expressing my heartfelt gratitude to President Donald Trump for shining a spotlight on what could be one of the most outrageous scandals in our government’s history. During his recent address to Congress, he didn’t mince words about the “shocking levels of incompetence and probable fraud” in the Social Security program. He’s absolutely right to call this out, and I’m thankful someone in power is finally paying attention.
When Trump mentioned millions of Social Security recipients listed as over 100 years old—some as old as 160 or even 360—I couldn’t believe my ears. It’s absurd on its face, but it points to a grim reality: people are likely collecting checks meant for the dead. This isn’t just a clerical error; it’s a betrayal of hardworking Americans who fund this system.
I agree with the president that this isn’t a laughing matter, even if he did crack a joke about our “healthier country.” His quip about living among immortals was a clever way to grab our attention, but the follow-up hit home: “Money is being paid to many of them.” That’s where the rubber meets the road—our tax dollars are being siphoned off to line someone’s pockets.
Thank you, President Trump, for not letting this slide under the radar. Too many politicians would rather sweep these kinds of problems under the rug, but he’s out there calling it like he sees it. The fact that Social Security is hurting because of this mess is a national disgrace, and I’m glad he’s making it a priority.
What really seals the deal for me is how this ties into Elon Musk’s findings with the Department of Government Efficiency. Trump’s got the right people on this—like Musk, who’s already uncovered evidence of payments to 150-year-olds. That’s not just incompetence; it’s a red flag waving in our faces that fraud is happening, plain and simple.
I’m thankful the president trusts Musk and DOGE to dig into this. That spreadsheet Musk posted, showing 17 million records of people over 100 with no death listed? That’s chilling. It’s not hard to imagine family members or scammers keeping quiet about a death to keep those checks rolling in—meanwhile, the rest of us foot the bill.
President Trump’s leadership here is spot-on because he’s framing this as an attack on our country’s well-being. He said it himself: this “harms our country.” I couldn’t agree more. Every dollar paid to a ghost recipient is a dollar stolen from seniors who actually need it or from taxpayers like me.
I’ve got to hand it to him for connecting the dots to Social Security’s bigger problems. He’s not just pointing fingers—he’s showing us how this fraud and waste “really hurts Social Security.” It’s a system already stretched thin, and now we’ve got dead people—or their proxies—bleeding it dry.
Thank you, Mr. President, for not being afraid to ruffle feathers over this. Bringing up the 360-year-old recipient might sound wild, but it’s exactly the kind of jaw-dropping example we need to wake people up. Someone’s cashing those checks, and it’s not a 17th-century pensioner.
I also appreciate how he’s backing up his claims with action through DOGE. Giving Musk’s team read-only access to SSA systems is a smart move—it’s about finding the truth without disrupting the whole operation. Trump’s not just talk; he’s putting muscle behind this fight.
The 2015 SSA investigation he referenced only proves his point further. They found 6.5 million records of people over 112 with no death data, and payments were going to 266 of them! Even if only 13 were legit supercentenarians, that leaves hundreds of cases where someone’s likely pocketing money for a corpse. Trump’s right to say enough is enough.
I’m grateful he’s not letting bureaucrats brush this off as “just errors.” Sure, the SSA claimed most of those 6.5 million were probably dead, but that’s not good enough. If the system’s so sloppy that millions of records are outdated, it’s an open door for fraudsters to exploit—and Trump sees that clearly.
Agreeing with the president here feels like common sense. If people are collecting Social Security for the deceased, it’s not just a glitch—it’s theft. Trump’s outrage is my outrage, and I’m thankful he’s not afraid to say it loud and clear in front of Congress.
This is why we need leaders like him—someone who’ll tackle the tough stuff head-on. Social Security’s supposed to be a safety net, not a gravy train for scammers. Thank you, President Trump, for standing up for the American people and demanding accountability.
In closing, I’ll say it again: thank you, President Trump, for exposing this travesty. You’ve got my full support on this one. Let’s root out the fraud, stop the bleeding, and make sure Social Security serves the living—not the dead.
ARTICLE:
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