2020 Democratic presidential hopefuls Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders are butting heads over Social Security.
The former vice president released a video late Tuesday, where he criticized Sanders for launching “dishonest attacks against fellow Democrats.”
“I’ve been fighting to protect — and expand — Social Security for my whole career,” Biden wrote along with the video, adding, “Any suggestion otherwise is just flat-out wrong.”
The video says, “Bernie’s negative attacks won’t change the truth: Joe Biden is still the strongest Democrat to beat Donald Trump.”
See Biden’s video below:
I've been fighting to protect — and expand — Social Security for my whole career. Any suggestion otherwise is just flat-out wrong. pic.twitter.com/KWIIJgFqGk
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) January 22, 2020
In response to Biden, Sanders’ campaign manager Faiz Shakir rebuked the video in a statement late Tuesday.
“Joe Biden just released the first negative ad of the 2020 Democratic primary, and let’s be clear about why: he’s trying to distort his decades-long record of proposing and voting for cuts to Social Security benefits for millions of people. Joe Biden is no defender of Social Security, and a negative ad won’t help him outrun his record.”
Along with the statement, Sanders’ campaign attached a document on Biden’s record on Social Security, which included a video of Biden saying on the Senate floor in 1995, “When I argued that we should freeze Federal spending, I meant Social Security as well. I meant Medicare and Medicaid. I meant veterans benefits. I meant every single solitary thing in the Government. And I not only tried it once, I tried it twice, I tried it a third time, and I tried it a fourth time.”
Additionally, Sanders tweeted a video late Tuesday, following Biden’s video, and wrote, “Let’s be honest, Joe. One of us fought for decades to cut Social Security, and one of us didn’t. But don’t take it from me. Take it from you.”
Watch the video below:
Let’s be honest, Joe. One of us fought for decades to cut Social Security, and one of us didn’t. But don’t take it from me. Take it from you. pic.twitter.com/qh7qb1Hmcl
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) January 22, 2020
This is not the first time the two Democrats have butted heads on Social Security, including recently when Sanders’ campaign released a video of Biden’s past comments on privatizing Social Security.
Biden didn’t stay silent, as he claimed the video “doctored” during a town hall in Iowa on Saturday and called for an apology from Sanders. The video was not doctored, as Politico reports. However, a recent statement in a campaign newsletter by Sanders claiming, “In 2018, Biden lauded Paul Ryan for proposing cuts to Social Security and Medicare,” was deemed “false” by Politico.
