The White House has deleted a tweet about social security checks after fact checkers pointed out the faults with the claim.
“Seniors are getting the biggest increase in their Social Security checks in 10 years through President Biden’s leadership,” the White House originally tweeted.
Twitter fact checkers added a note to the tweet, saying the larger checks were because of inflation.
“Seniors will receive a large Social Security benefit increase due to the annual cost of living adjustment, which is based on the inflation rate,” the note read.
Biden claims victory for giving out larger Social Security checks.
— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) November 2, 2022
Twitter fact checks it saying that this is because of record inflation. pic.twitter.com/nLKI9XzGc1
CNN’s fact-checker Daniel Dale commented on the tweet, calling the claim “quite the spin.”
He added, “It’s true that this year’s increase is the biggest in years. Very much not sure ‘there was big inflation and therefore also, as required by decades-old law, a big cost-of-living adjustment to Social Security’ is what people think of as an example of presidential leadership.”
During a White House press briefing, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked why the tweet was removed.
“So, it was–look, the tweet was not complete. Usually, when we put out a tweet, we post it with context and it did not have that context,” Jean-Pierre said.
She explained, “In the past, we’ve pointed out that for the first time in over a decade, seniors’ Medicare premium will decrease even as they’re social security checks increase. That’s a little bit of context that was not included. This means that seniors will have a chance to get ahead of inflation.”
Jean-Pierre reiterated that it was an “incomplete tweet.”
Watch her comments below:
KJP on why the White House deleted a misleading tweet about an increase in Social Security checks: "So, it was–look, the tweet was not complete. Usually, when we put out a tweet, we post it with context and it did not have that context…Seniors will have a chance to get ahead". pic.twitter.com/avxevZa3Gs
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) November 2, 2022
The Social Security Administration noted roughly 70 million Americans will see a “8.7% increase in their Social Security benefits and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments in 2023. On average, Social Security benefits will increase by more than $140 per month starting in January.”
The administration pointed out the increase occurs when the cost of living increases.
Last week, the president did not hold back on his warning about Republicans and Social Security benefits.
“They’re coming after Social Security,” Biden said while in New York last week.
He added, “Now it sounds like, you know, ‘What’s – there’s Biden. That’s a typical Democrat saying Republicans are after Social Security.’ This is the one thing they’ve said out loud. They’ve written it down on pieces of paper.”