Former President Biden said the Trump administration has “done so much damage and so much destruction” since taking office, accusing the White House of having “taken a hatchet” to the Social Security Administration (SSA) and “breaking things” as he delivered his first remarks since leaving the Oval Office earlier this year.
“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 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 said. “7000 employees — 7000 — out the door in that time, including the most seasoned officials. … Already we can see the effects.”
The speech, Biden’s first major remarks since he handed control of the White House over to President Trump, comes amid fears from Democrats that Trump’s attempts to crack down on government bureaucracy and spending could ultimately damage Social Security and hurt the tens of millions of Americans who receive the benefits.
The SSA has planned significant workforce reductions, and the agency faces a lawsuit over access by the Department of Government Efficiency, led by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, to millions of Americans’ personal data stored in SSA systems.
Biden on Tuesday touted his own work on Social Security, the government program he called “a sacred promise,” without directly name-dropping his successor — but he took swipes at Republicans in Congress and the administration more broadly as he sounded alarm bells.
“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.
He added that he had said a quote from former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley: “They want to wreck it so they can rob it.”
O’Malley, who led the SSA under Biden, presented the former president with the ACRD’s Beacon of Hope Award as he introduced Biden’s keynote speech.
Biden also snagged laughs from the audience at what organizers said was a sold-out event with a dig at dubious claims from Trump and Musk that millions of people over 100 years old are receiving 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 quipped.
Asked about Biden’s speech ahead of time, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Tuesday knocked the ex-president’s age. At 82 in his last year of office, Biden was the oldest sitting president. At 78, Trump is now the oldest man elected president.
“I’m shocked that he is speaking at nighttime. I thought his bedtime was much earlier than his speech tonight,” Leavitt said. “Let me make it very clear … this president, President Trump, is absolutely certain about protecting Social Security benefits for law-abiding, taxpaying American citizens and seniors who have paid into this program.”
Leavitt also announced that Trump would sign a presidential memorandum aimed at “stopping illegal aliens, and other ineligible people” from obtaining the benefits.
