President marks the 90th anniversary of Social Security by claiming a tax was eliminated; the tax remains.

The Social Security Act of 1935 turned 90 on Thursday. The President marked the occasion in the Oval Office with prepared remarks, a proclamation, and a sentence that was not true.

The sentence was that his recent legislation “allowed no tax” on Social Security. The Tax Policy Center, asked to evaluate the claim, said it is incorrect. The recent law contains an additional deduction of up to $6,000 for taxpayers aged 65 and older. The deduction is temporary and expires in 2028. It is not a repeal of the income tax on Social Security benefits. It does not affect the formula used to calculate the taxable portion of those benefits. The structural feature of Social Security taxation, in place since the 1983 reforms, remains in place.

The distinction between a $6,000 deduction and the elimination of a tax is the kind of distinction the Joint Committee on Taxation exists to draw. It is the kind of distinction the Office of the Press Secretary, presumably, is staffed to recognize before allowing a claim to leave a podium. It did not.

There are two ways to read what happened on Thursday. The first is that the President believes a $6,000 deduction is the same as eliminating a tax. The second is that the President knows it is not, and said it anyway. The first reading is more troubling. The second is more familiar.

A serious country, on the 90th anniversary of one of its most consequential pieces of social legislation, would mark the day with accuracy. The accuracy was discounted in advance. The proclamation was signed. The press shop circulated a fact sheet repeating the claim.

Calmly documenting the decline.