April 15 (UPI) — Former President Joe Biden on Tuesday night delivered his first official public speech since leaving the White House, as he called the Trump administration’s “damage” to Social Security “breathtaking.”
“Fewer than 100 days into this new administration, they have done so much damage and destruction,” Biden said during his speech at the Chicago national conference of Advocates, Counselors and Representatives for the Disabled. “It is kind of breathtaking it could happen that soon.”
Biden, 82, spoke for just under 30 minutes, during which he criticized Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency for searching out benefits fraud. The former president claimed the Trump administration’s efforts could put many disabled people in jeopardy.
“Why are they doing this now?” Biden asked. “Well, they’re following that old line from tech startups. The quote is ‘Move fast, break things.’ They’re certainly breaking things.”
Trump and Musk have cut 7,000 Social Security Administration jobs over the past few months in an effort to shrink the federal workforce to make it “more efficient,” while insisting “we’re not touching Social Security.”
In 2023, roughly 67 million Americans received Social Security benefits as experts warn Social Security, which has been running a cash-flow deficit since 2010, could be depleted by 2035.
“Social Security is more than a government program,” Biden said Tuesday. “It’s a sacred promise.”
“Everyone deserves to be treated with dignity,” Biden added. “That means making sure that more than 60 million Americans who live with disabilities are treated with dignity. That is who we are as Americans.”
“It’s devastating for millions of people, and the psychological pressure we put people under by having this debate is absolutely devastating,” Biden said.
“We can’t go on like this as a divided nation, as divided as we are. Like I said, I’ve been doing this a long time. It’s never been this divided,” Biden declared, before adding, “Granted, it’s roughly 30%, but it’s a 30% that has no heart.”
After Biden’s speech, White House spokesman Steven Cheung issued a statement, responding to the former president’s accusations about Social Security and calling him an “all-out liar.”
“President Trump has repeatedly promised to protect Social Security and ensure higher take-home pay for seniors by ending the taxation of Social Security benefits,” Cheung said. “Anybody saying otherwise is either stupid or an all-out liar.”