Biden slams Trump 'destruction' in first post-presidency speech
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WASHINGTON: Joe Biden, in his first major speech since leaving the White House, railed on Tuesday (Apr 15) against his successor Donald Trump's frenetic government overhaul, claiming the "hatchet" effort put Americans' retirement benefits at risk.
"Fewer than 100 days, this administration has done so much damage, and so much destruction - it's kind of breathtaking it could happen that soon," Biden told a conference of disability advocates in Chicago.
"They've taken a hatchet to the Social Security Administration (SSA), pushing 7,000 employees out the door," said the former president, referring to the national agency which pays out retirement and disability benefits.
Wearing a blue suit and tie, and standing in front of American flags, the 82-year-old Democrat spoke for around a half-hour, displaying at times the signs of ageing that prompted him to abandon his re-election campaign last year.
He stumbled over some sentences as he read from a teleprompter and struggled to get through winding off-the-cuff anecdotes, cutting himself off with a favourite phrase, "anyways".
President Trump, in a jab at Biden, posted a short video on social media of one of the rambling anecdotes, without comment.
Biden's choice of topic, Social Security, aimed to ramp up pressure on Trump over his rampaging government overhaul efforts.
He highlighted staff reductions at the agency that Trump and his billionaire aide Elon Musk have pushed as part of their "Department of Government Efficiency", saying the Social Security "website is crashing" and hindering retirees from getting their benefits.
The SSA pays out US$1.4 trillion in benefits to 73 million elderly and disabled Americans annually. Trump repeatedly pledged during his election campaign not to touch Social Security benefits.
The programme is colloquially known in Washington as the "third rail of politics" for its sensitivity to voters.
Many Americans "literally count on social security to buy food, just to get by", Biden said, and "many of these beneficiaries, it's their only income. If it were cut or taken away, it would be devastating, devastating for millions of people".
He bashed Trump's commerce secretary, former hedge fund manager Howard Lutnick, over a recent remark in which he said "fraudsters" would complain about a missing check, but not his mother-in-law.
Biden scoffed at that characterisation, saying "what about the 94-year-old mother living all by herself - who doesn't have a billionaire in the family?"
In March, a federal judge said the SSA likely violated privacy laws by giving Musk's aides "unbridled access" to the data of millions of Americans inside the agency's networks, and ordered a temporary halt to further record-sharing. The case continues.
"President Trump is absolutely certain about protecting Social Security benefits for law-abiding tax-paying American citizens and seniors who have paid into this programme. He will always protect that programme," Karoline Leavitt, Trump's press secretary, told reporters before Biden's speech.
Many layoffs or resignations have taken place inside the agency’s IT departments, and Biden referred to a recent increase in the number of times the agency's computer systems have crashed.
"People can't sign on to their accounts,” Biden said. “Who in the hell do they think they are?” he said of the Trump administration.
Some Democrats had misgivings about Biden’s speech, saying it might be better for him not to re-enter the political fray.
Karen Finney, a Democratic strategist, said many Democrats are concerned that Biden’s appearance will distract from the political and economic blowback Trump is getting for triggering a trade war with China and imposing tariffs on other countries.
“We are finally beginning to see cracks in the armour in terms of Trump’s policies,” Finney said. “You don’t want to become a lightning rod that distracts from Trump. And it could make it easy for Trump to change the subject to Biden.”
Biden dropped his reelection bid last July after a poor debate performance against Trump. Kamala Harris, his vice president, then lost the November election.
Biden left office in January with one of the lowest approval ratings for a post-World War Two president, at 38 per cent, according to a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll, and after a four-year term marked by high inflation and questions about his mental acuity. Many Democrats blamed him for Trump’s victory.
Presidential historian Timothy Naftali said it was important for Biden to speak out about Social Security, precisely because of his age.
“I understand why some Democrats would like Biden to fade away," Naftali said. “But a very important part of the Democratic base remains older people on Social Security, and Joe Biden has always been their champion.”
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