Former President Joe Biden slammed Trump’s Social Security agenda in his first major speech since leaving the White House.
On Tuesday (April 15), Biden delivered remarks at the Advocates, Counselors, and Representatives for the Disabled (ACRD) conference in Chicago, where he ripped the Trump administration over its Social Security policies, per Fox News.
“Seriously, people are now genuinely concerned for the first time in history, for the first and only time in history, that Social Security benefits may be delayed or interrupted,” Biden said.
“In the 90 years since Franklin Roosevelt created the Social Security system, people have always gotten their Social Security checks. They’ve gotten them during wartime, during recessions, during the pandemic. No matter what, they got them. But now, for the first time ever, that might change. It would be a calamity for millions of families, millions of people,” he added.
Biden’s ACRD speech marked his first major post-presidency remarks. During the event, Biden was presented with ACRD’s “Beacon of Hope Award” for his accomplishments as president, including his leadership during the pandemic and advocacy for the “dignity of every person.”
Thus far, the Trump administration has cut 7,000 Social Security administration jobs. Democrats have warned that widespread cuts to Social Security benefits for seniors are next.
“Why are these guys taking aim at Social Security now?” Biden questioned of the Trump administration during his speech. “Well, they’re following that old line from tech startups. The quote is, ‘Move fast, break things.’ They’re certainly breaking things. They’re shooting first and aiming later.”
“The result is a lot of needless pain and sleepless nights,” the former president added.
Biden also noted that the Trump administration is looking to “wreck” Social Security to “rob it.”
“My friend, [Maryland] Gov. [Martin] O’Malley, knows what they’re really up to. He says, and I love his quote, ‘They want to wreck it so they could rob it.’ They want to wreck it so they could rob it. Why do they want to rob it? In order to deliver huge tax cuts to billionaires and big corporations and keep it going. They want to make permanent the 2017 tax cuts, which overwhelmingly benefits the wealthiest Americans and the biggest corporations. That’s going to cost $5 trillion. Where are they going to get $5 trillion to pay for when they continue to run the deficit up?”
“What they always do … by running up the national debt, No. 1, then by taking the money from someplace else. What are the two big pots of money out there in raw numbers? Social Security and Medicaid. … Republicans, these guys are willing to hurt the middle class and the working class in order to deliver significant, greater wealth to their already very wealthy [friends]. Who in the hell do they think they are?” he said.
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