What did Donald Trump do today?

He explained that his promise not to cut Social Security and Medicaid did not mean he wouldn't cut Social Security and Medicaid.

Trump released another budget plan today, consistent in its overall extreme austerity (except for defense spending) with the previous attempt that went ignored by Congress. In his inaugural campaign speech in 2015, Trump promised to "save Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security without cuts." But his current proposal would slash the Social Security Disability Insurance program by 28%. About 10,000,000 Americans currently receive disability assistance through the program. Asked to explain this discrepancy, Budget Director Mick Mulvaney claimed that the Social Security Disability Insurance program was not really a part of Social Security.

It really is.

Candidate Trump also promised not to cut Medicaid, but his budget today calls for $600 billion in cuts to the program (on top of an estimated $839 billion in cuts built into his health care bill). Roughly one-quarter of Americans are enrolled in Medicaid and would be affected by those cuts. Mulvaney explained that Trump's promise not to cut Medicaid had been "overridden" by his promise to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

So what?

• Voters who heard Trump promise not to cut Social Security and Medicaid may have believed that he was not planning to cut Social Security and Medicaid.

• Breaking a promise you didn't intend to keep isn't excused by making a conflicting promise you can't keep.