Trump’s tax attack on Raymond Smith overstates a real repeal dispute

Donald Trump’s tax attack on North Carolina Democrat Raymond Smith overstates a real policy dispute. Smith has called for repealing the law containing the deductions Trump is defending, but his published plans leave their individual fate unclear. Nor did that law abolish income tax on Social Security benefits, as Trump’s slogan suggests.

Trump made the accusation in a 26 October 2026 Truth Social post endorsing Republican congressman Greg Murphy for re-election in North Carolina’s third congressional district. He said Smith opposed tax relief for tips, overtime and Social Security, warning that “all of these things will be terminated” if Smith and the Democrats came to power.

The post links to Swamp the Vote, a Republican voter-mobilisation site urging supporters to protect the party’s majority ahead of the 3 November election.

A genuine call for repeal

Smith did advocate repealing the sweeping tax-and-spending package commonly called the One Big Beautiful Bill. In a healthcare interview published by local broadcaster WITN on 15 October, he said: “The repeal of the big ugly bill is the first place I would start.”

He linked that position to reversing healthcare cuts and restoring Medicaid funding. In the same report, Murphy defended his support for the Medicaid cuts, arguing that the programme had grown beyond its intended purpose.

Wholesale repeal without retaining or replacing the relevant provisions would indeed remove the tips, overtime and senior deductions. That gives Trump’s warning a substantive basis.

But Smith’s repeal call did not address those deductions individually or explain whether any would be preserved in replacement legislation. His campaign platform and his answers published by North Carolina Health News on 19 October leave that question unanswered too.

What the tax breaks actually cover

The law, approved on 4 July 2025, created limited federal income-tax deductions rather than three blanket tax exemptions. The dollar amounts reduce taxable income; they are not dollar-for-dollar savings on a tax bill.

The clearest mismatch concerns Social Security, the US retirement, disability and survivor benefits system. The Congressional Research Service explains that the law left unchanged the calculation determining how much of those benefits is taxable.

Instead, qualifying taxpayers aged 65 or over can claim an additional deduction of up to $6,000 each, or $12,000 on a joint return if both spouses qualify. It begins to shrink above modified adjusted gross income of $75,000, or $150,000 for joint filers. Receiving Social Security is not a requirement, while recipients under 65 cannot claim this age-based deduction.