FACT CHECK: Ron Johnson’s campaign falsely claims Milwaukee newspaper called him ‘champion of Social Security’

Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson’s (R) re-election campaign falsely claimed that the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel called him a “champion” of Social Security and Medicare, mischaracterizing an op-ed as an endorsement.

Obviously the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel did not call Ron Johnson a champion for Social Security and Medicare.

It was an opinion piece written by a right-wing special interest organization that seeks to privatize Social Security and voucherize Medicare. https://t.co/fH64vXQ6IS

— danny (@dabbs346) August 29, 2022

The campaign is referring to an op-ed that it is claiming was written by the Milwaukee newspaper. In reality, this piece appeared on the Journal Sentinel website, but it was written by the president of the 60 Plus Association, Saul Anuzis. The 60 Plus Association is a conservative organization that shares Johnson’s sentiment about privatizing Social Security.

Opinion pieces are intended to express the opinion of the author, and they often do not reflect the values of the publication platforming the op-ed. The Journal Sentinel often covers Johnson’s controversial statements about economic and social policies, whether it’s proposing Social Security and Medicare funds be subject to yearly threats of defunding or saying Social Security funds should be in the stock market.

But in Anuzis’ op-ed he praised Johnson for claiming that Medicare and Social Security are dying programs that need to be reformed. Johnson has repeatedly scrutinized Social Security and advocated for policies that could defund it.

NEW: On the The Regular Joe Show, Sen. Ron. Johnson (R-WI) argues for eliminating entitlements: “Social Security and Medicare, if you qualify, you just get it no matter what the cost… We ought to turn everything into discretionary spending so it’s all evaluated.” pic.twitter.com/bE1KUb6uJ5

— Heartland Signal (@HeartlandSignal) August 2, 2022