Former President Joe Biden was back at the podium Tuesday night when he took aim the “damage” his successor has done to the Social Security Administration.
This speech marked the first words the public heard from the former president since he left office in January.
“Fewer than 100 days, this new administration has made so much — done so much damage and so much destruction. It’s kind of breathtaking it could happen that soon,” Biden said, according to a report on The Hill.
Biden spoke at the national conference of Advocates, Counselors and Representatives for the Disabled (ACRD) in Chicago.
“They’ve taken a hatchet to the Social Security Administration,” Biden continued. “Seven thousand employees — 7,000 — out the door in that time, including the most seasoned officials. … Already we can see the effects.”
The speech comes at a time when Democrats are fearful of President Donald Trump’s paring down of government spending could hurt not only Social Security, but the the tens of millions of Americans who receive the benefits.
Biden took time in his speech to tout how he helped Social Security, which he called “a sacred promise.” At the same time, he lambasted Republicans in Congress and Trump’s administration.
“Why are these guys taking aim at Social Security now? 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,” Biden said, adding a quote by former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley: “They want to wreck it so they can rob it.”
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O’Malley, who led the SSA under Biden, presented his former boss with the ACRD’s Beacon of Hope Award.
Biden also took aim at Trump and Elon Musk over the ir claims that millions of people over 100 years old are getting Social Security payments.
“By the way, those 300-year-old folk[s] getting that Social Security, I want to meet them because I’d like to figure out how they live that long. Hell of a thing, man. I’m looking for longevity. Because it’s hell when you turn 40 years old,” Biden said
