Video shows Trump promising to pause student loan payments and cancel payroll tax if reelected in 2024.
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Video does not show Trump promising to defer student loans if reelected in 2024
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This video shows a speech Donald Trump gave in August 2020, while he was president and announcing COVID-19 pandemic relief.
An Instagram post claims to show former President Donald Trump promising enticing economic moves if he wins the 2024 presidential election.
"Trump plans if he gets re-elected for president 2024" reads text at the top of the video post that then cuts to footage of Trump speaking at the White House.
"I will be deferring payments on student loans at zero interest until further notice," Trump says in the video. "And on the payroll tax, we'll be terminating the payroll tax after I, hopefully, get elected. We'll be terminating the payroll tax. We will be, on the assumption I win, we are going to be terminating the payroll tax after the beginning of the new year."
The post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)
But the video is from Aug. 12, 2020, when Trump was still president and seeking reelection. It shows him announcing relief for student loan borrowers during the coronavirus pandemic’s height.
Trump lost the 2020 election to current President Joe Biden.
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Although the student loan payment deferral continued well into the Biden administration, the payroll tax cut was less successful. Many employees and companies didn’t follow the directive to stop withholding the tax that helps to fund Social Security, The New York Times reported.
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In 2022, the Biden administration proposed forgiving up to $20,000 for low income borrowers and $10,000 for most other borrowers. But in June 2023, the Supreme Court struck down the plan, ruling that the administration lacked the power to forgive the loans.
Since leaving office, Trump has described Biden’s student loan relief package as "unfair."
We rate the claim that this video shows Trump promising to pause student loan payments and cancel payroll taxes if reelected in 2024 False.
Our Sources
Instagram post (archived link)
PBS, Watch: Trump holds White House news conference
The Hill, Trump praises his appointments after Supreme Court strikes down ‘unfair’ debt relief plan, Jul. 01. 2023
U.S. Government Publishing Office, The President’s News Conference, accessed Jan. 03, 2024
The New York Times, Trump’s Payroll Tax ‘Cut’ Fizzles, Sep. 11, 2020
CNN, Student loan payment pause will end this year, education secretary confirms, May 17, 2023
NPR, Supreme Court kills Biden's student debt plan in a setback for millions of borrowers, Jun. 30, 2023
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Video does not show Trump promising to defer student loans if reelected in 2024
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