What Will Trump Do?

1. What Will Trump Do? 

It is the parlor game that much of Washington is playing right now, though we don’t think that many people had Gaetz, Hegseth, and Gabbard on their cabinet bingo cards. Guessing at what our most, let’s say, unconventional, President will do is a bit of a fool’s errand at this point. 

But we’re fools here at TNSB Headquarters, and we’ve also heard many concerns from faithful readers about what a Trump Presidency may mean for older Americans, especially around Social Security and Medicare. So, we’ve scoured the internet and Project 2025 for clues about the stated priorities of the new Administration, and can offer some insights, if not predictions, to inform the discussion. 

• On Social Security, President Trump has promised to “fight for and protect Social Security”, a common campaign theme in modern American politics. In the short term, it seems unlikely that the new Administration would do anything to cut benefits. The only significant campaign proposal Trump has offered specific to Social Security is to eliminate the taxes on Social Security benefits. If enacted, that would provide immediate benefit for at least some Social Security recipients.  The larger concern appears to be that his broader economic agenda could “dramatically worsen” the financial situation of the Social Security program, by reducing revenues through tariff policies, eliminating taxes on tips, and the like. That would, some fear, hasten the date when Social Security could no longer pay full benefits. A reckoning is coming on that regardless. President Trump has promised to address the solvency issues with the program, though every candidate makes those promises, and every new Administration kicks that particular can down the road.   
• Medicare provides health coverage for approximately 63 million older Americans. Candidate Trump has promised to not reduce Medicare spending by “one penny”, but President Trump did propose four successive budgets that reduced Medicare spending, though it is believed by experts that those cuts (none of which were enacted by Congress), would not have materially reduced benefits. The lack of detail around Medicare in candidate Trump’s Agenda 47 makes it hard to know what the next four years will hold. Most analysts are predicting that the new Administration will target Medicaid for significant cuts, but it seems unlikely at this point that Medicare will get similar treatment. 
• Perhaps the area most potentially impacted by the new Administration could be caregiving. The Trump campaign has shown no interest in any of the long-term care and caregiving investments proposed by the Biden Administration and the Harris campaign, such as the expansion of Medicare to include long-term home-based care. Consistent with its overall deregulation outlook, the new Administration is also unlikely to support Biden’s efforts to enhance care and staffing requirements at nursing homes. But perhaps the most consequential impact could be from the new Administration’s focus on deporting undocumented immigrants, many of whom now work in the care industry as nurse’s aides, health care workers, or the like. Mass deportations, as promised by Trump, could exacerbate existing labor shortages in the sector, potentially raising costs and forcing more families to take on caregiving responsibilities.

2. Bend Your Supplements Like Beckham.

We know, the heading is a big stretch, but we did love the movie, and it is a segue to the announcement yesterday that David Beckham’s health and lifestyle company, IM8, is entering the supplements market for the first time. Co-developed with biotech company, Prenetics, IM8 will be offering a wide range of supplements for healthy aging. 

Beckham is entering a frothy marketplace. Sales of supplements skyrocketed during the pandemic, jumping 50% to $220 billion in 2023. Though growth has leveled off a bit as we have returned to the sunshine, sales grew again in 2023 and are expected to reach $300 billion worldwide by 2028. You can buy a lot of soccer balls with that money. 

Far be it for us to argue with a man who has scored over 600 career goals and married a Spice Girl, but the medical consensus is that there is little to recommend in the widespread use of supplements. It is an unregulated marketplace, meaning that claims of effectiveness are not subject, for instance, to FDA oversight, and the medical evidence suggests that taking multiple supplements does not protect against disease or improve health in otherwise healthy individuals.  In general, individuals can obtain the necessary nutrients from a well-balanced diet, though researchers acknowledge that there may be cases, such as for some vegans, that it could be useful to use supplements to make up for dietary shortcomings.

3. We Watch So You Don't Have To, The Final Episode.

And then there was one. At the end of two months of programming, so many dates, and much introspection to the cameras, Joan made her choice in a “dramatic, romantic and unforgettable” finale of the first season of the Golden Bachelorette.   

But first, some angst. The show opens with Joan sitting on her yacht, despondent because Pascal had pulled himself out of the running for her hand. She weepily tells the camera (and then her friend Nancy), that she now feels unlovable, and that she doesn’t know whether she will find happiness at the end of the show. Logically, it’s a little hard to work up too much sympathy for Joan over the one rejection, given that she had just told 22 suitors to hit the brick, but we like Joan and are sorry to see her down. 

But not for long! Soon, she is out with Chock, her most ardent pursuer, for a final date. It goes swimmingly well, and Chock professes his love for her. Several times. But nothing in return, as Joan has promised herself not to declare love until the end. But that night, reflecting on her time with Chock, Joan realizes that Chock is indeed the one. The next morning, she calls off the final date with Guy (no mention of whether he feels unlovable), and rushes back to Chock for their happy ending together. Bachelor Nation rejoices. Not to brag, but we saw it coming all along. What’s next for the happy couple? No one knows for sure, but a live on television wedding ceremony is certainly not out of the question.   

And this ends our journey at TNSB as well. By that, we mean an end to the overuse of the word “journey”, which we could not get out of our head after hearing it eight times in the first six minutes of this final Golden Bachelorette episode. It is enough to make us buy a thesaurus for every writer, producer, contestant, and editor at ABC. From now on, here at TNSB Headquarters, we will be discussing voyages and passages and expeditions, but the “j word” will be forever banned from this newsletter. At least until the next season of the Golden Bachelor, and the inevitable beginning of Charles K’s j******.