The following statements by Congressman Michael Waltz are from a Republican primary debate on August 1, 2018 for Florida’s 6th Congressional district (Daytona Beach, Palm Coast, Deltona, New Smyrna Beach, etc.). Waltz is feeding his unconscionable plans directly to President Trump, who promised in 2016 never to cut Social Security and Medicare, but now says “it’s the easiest of all things” to slash.

Moderator: Alright, Mr. Waltz, this question goes to you first. The recent tax cuts supported by President Trump and the Republican Congress have no doubt helped to ignite the economy. [Thripp: Now we have seen little wage growth but huge corporate profits, so this is debatable at best.]

Michael Waltz: You said tax cuts, Pat?

Moderator: Yes. And who doesn’t like a tax cut, right? We all like tax cuts. [Applause] But, but, those tax cuts came without any corresponding spending cuts. That means the deficit is rising significantly. Projected to be about $800 and something billion dollars this year. It’s now going up more rapidly than it did during the last years of the Obama presidency according to, that’s according to the Congressional Budget Office. So, my question is this: What spending cuts would you make to offset that budget deficit, and how much, tell me how much those cuts would save taxpayers?

Michael Waltz: Well again, it’s my own experience with my own business trying to build it as an entrepreneur. Uhh, you know, most of that time was under the Obama administration. Uhh, we couldn’t get a loan because Sarbanes–Oxley [Thripp: Being unable to comply with this post-Enron law is not really something to be proud of], I already talked about the burden of Obamacare. Overtaxed, over regulated. As soon as President Trump came in and got the Tax Cut and Jobs Act, and that’s an important component—Tax Cut and Jobs Act passed, we put that new rate in and hired 6 more people. Our economy is on fire. 4.1% GDP, the lowest minority, uhh, unemployment in American history, and I plan to get up to D.C. to continue that. I would not have signed, uhh I would not—excuse me, I would not have voted for the omnibus, that added $1.3 trillion in debt. Our debt is our biggest, I think, one of our biggest national security issues. It is a burden on our future generation, our kids and our grandkids, and we have to get a hold of it. The way to get a hold of it, and, and, this is what we’re gonna have to do, we’re gonna have to go after the non-discretionary portion: The entitlement reform portion. We’re nibbling around the edges with all of these other cuts. That’s the part that we have to go over. We need politicians that get up there and have the guts to go after it. It’s one of the reasons I’m on the record for term limits. It’s that you get in there, you get stuff done, and you get back to the real world. That’s what our founding fathers intended.

Moderator: Just to, uhh, clarify one thing though: If we go after entitlements, what does that amount to? Uhh, if you cut, let’s say, and what are those entitlements? Is Social Security an entitlement?

Michael Waltz: Yeah. [Dissent from audience]

Moderator: Or, is Medicare an entitlement? What entitlements, and how much would that bring in—how much would that save?

Michael Waltz: Well it’s, umm I mean it’s, you know, I don’t necessarily have the numbers in front of me, but it’s by far—it’s 70% of our budget. So figure out 70% of our $6 trillion budget. [Thripp: It’s 50% of a $4 trillion federal budget. If you count interest on the national debt you are close to 70%, but Waltz wasn’t proposing defaulting on interest payments.] Pat, you’re better at math than I am. But, umm, that’s [Social Security and Medicare] the part that we have to have the guts to go after, and as soon as any Republican says that, we see the ads start flying from the left. And you know, look, the policies are in place to do that. Simpson–Bowles and others have put forward real recommendations, but the political will is lacking, and I think we need a new generation to get up there and say “enough—I’m not going to pass this debt on to my kids.” But, very quickly, who’s the biggest holder of our debt? The Chinese. By far. [Thripp: No, not by far. Not even true. Japan owns more debt than China.] So we have a massive trade, uhh, deficit. That money’s going over to China, they’re buying our debt with it, and we have this vicious loop that we have to get out of.

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Watch this recent interview with President Donald Trump where he says that Social Security and Medicare are the easiest things to cut, and he will be going after them soon.

JOE KERNEN: Do I dare? One last question: Entitlements ever be on your plate?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: At some point they will be. We have tremendous growth. We’re going to have tremendous growth. This next year I—it’ll be toward the end of the year. The growth is going to be incredible. And at the right time, we will take a look at that. You know, that’s actually the easiest of all things, if you look, cause it’s such a big percentage.

JOE KERNEN: If you’re willing to do some of the things that you said you wouldn’t do in the past, though, in terms of Medicare–

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, we’re gonna– we’re gonna look.

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Summary by Richard Thripp: The U.S. government itself has determined that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 was a massive giveaway of money to the rich and corporate welfare to big businesses. Mr. Waltz supports slashing your Social Security and Medicare to pay for it. We CANNOT elect Mr. Waltz or Mr. Trump to a second term. I, Richard Thripp, am running for Waltz’s seat as a progressive Democrat who will not cut Social Security and Medicare. Social Security can be fully funded ad infinitum by raising or eliminating the cap on wages it applies to, instead of its present form as a regressive tax that taxes high earners at lower percentages than the middle class.

And finally, some words of wisdom from Michael Waltz in 2016. At that time, he was against Trump but totally flip-flopped to become a Trump sycophant in his 2018 campaign and in his actions in Congress.

Michael Waltz: “Don’t let Trump fool you. Look into his real record, and stop Trump now.”

Watch the above video from the start to see Michael Waltz also say about Donald Trump: “He essentially called anyone who is captured in combat a loser. It’s something that I personally can’t stomach.”

Trump and Waltz are partners in constant lying and hypocrisy and we must vote them out of office.