Trump renews Fry backing with false Social Security tax claim

Donald Trump has renewed his backing for Russell Fry’s re-election with a false claim about the tax package the South Carolina congressman supported: it did not abolish federal income tax on Social Security benefits. The law instead offers a temporary, income-limited deduction for older taxpayers. [1] [7] [8]

The Truth Social post, dated 17 October 2026 and preserved by Trump’s Truth, gives Fry his “Complete and Total Endorsement” for South Carolina’s 7th congressional district. The archive’s transcript of the attached video records Trump praising Fry’s tax vote as delivering “no tax on social security for our great seniors”. [1]

Fry, a Republican, faces Democratic challenger John Vincent in the 3 November House election. He has made continued cooperation with Trump a campaign theme, according to WMBF News. The president’s appeal arrived two days before South Carolina’s early voting period, which runs from 19 to 31 October, excluding Sunday 25 October. [10] [5]

The endorsement was already public by 15 October 2025, when Fry’s campaign circulated Trump’s statement of support for his re-election. An archived Trump post dated 3 November 2025 repeated it. The latest message reaffirms that backing; Trump does not claim it is his first endorsement. [3] [2]

Trump did back Darline Graham rather than Fry in August’s separate Republican Senate primary. Fry finished third and subsequently endorsed Graham, AP reported. That contest was distinct from the House re-election Trump had already supported. [11]

The new message also includes a pledge to get Interstate 73 built, praising Fry’s advocacy for federal funding. The South Carolina Department of Transportation’s grant tracker lists an application for the I-73 Resiliency Project under the PROTECT Resilience programme as pending. That entry covers one grant programme, rather than the road’s overall financing. [1] [9]

Trump also predicts Vincent would vote for $5 trillion in tax increases, without specifying a period or giving a calculation in the transcribed message. Vincent’s published platform does include removing the Social Security income cap, alongside ending global tariffs. Those positions alone do not establish Trump’s specific total. [1] [12]

A deduction, not an exemption

Fry’s support for the tax legislation is documented. House records show that he voted to approve the Senate amendment to H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, on 3 July 2025. The chamber passed it by 218 votes to 214. [6]

But the senior tax provision is narrower than Trump describes. IRS guidance says eligible people aged 65 and over can claim an additional deduction of up to $6,000 a year for tax years 2025–2028. A married couple filing jointly can claim up to $12,000 if both spouses qualify. [8]

The deduction phases out above modified adjusted gross income of $75,000, or $150,000 for joint filers. It reduces the income subject to tax; it does not create a general exemption for Social Security payments. [8]

The IRS’s tax guide still says those benefits may be taxable depending on other income and filing status. Extra deductions can reduce a household’s final bill—even to zero—but that is tax relief, not the blanket abolition Trump describes. [7]