Retire this man: After promising to protect the retirement programs, Trump has made mischief with Social Security and Medicare

Distinguishing himself from his Republican primary rivals, candidate Donald Trump in 2016 promised he wouldn’t cut a penny from Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid. As president, he’s made mischief with the programs, threatening to undermine the promise of a secure retirement for millions of Americans.

The broken pledge is another reason to put him out to pasture on Nov. 3.

In successive budgets, Trump has sought to slash billions from Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income, two programs administered by the Social Security Administration that serve millions of low-income senior citizens, adults and children with physical and mental disabilities. He’s also sought cuts to Medicare and Medicaid.

Fortunately, Congress hasn’t gone along, not even the Republican-controlled Senate.

This year came a more devious and dishonest gambit: an attempted payroll tax cut for millions of Americans. Economists and business leaders warned it would do very little to goose growth, but the man who listens to no one pushed ahead with his fetish anyway, via unilateral executive action. Trump offered to let employers defer taxes through the end of the year, with a pledge that those foregone payments would later be forgiven.

Which leaves two bad options. Either Trump has intentionally undermined Social Security and Medicare’s finances, by depleting funds without any plan to have them paid back. Or if the forgiveness doesn’t materialize -- it would require an act of Congress -- he essentially set payroll taxes to double when the deferred taxes get collected next year.

So unworkable is the scheme, big companies aren’t signing on, and neither are Republican governors.

We want rational reform of retirement programs. Trump’s not a good-faith reformer; he’s a disingenuous hatchet man. Get him out.

This is the Daily News Editorial Board’s reminder of 99 reasons Donald Trump ought to be disqualified from serving a second term as president. To read more, go here.

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