Source: Politics<\/p>\n
CHICAGO \u2014 Former President Joe Biden ripped the Trump administration\u2019s efforts to slash Social Security spending in his first major public speech since leaving the White House, but never mentioned the current president.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn fewer than 100 days, this administration has caused so much damage and destruction. It\u2019s breathtaking,\u201d Biden told about 200 people gathered for the conference of Advocates, Counselors, and Representatives for the Disabled on Tuesday. \u201cThey\u2019ve taken a hatchet to the Social Security Administration.”<\/p>\n
Biden attacked the Trump administration for thousands of job cuts at the federal agency, arguing that they\u2019ve eviscerated services and endangered benefits for the roughly 73 million seniors who rely on the popular financial assistance program.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re shooting first and aiming later,\u201d Biden said. \u201cThe result is a lot of needless pain and sleepless nights.\u201d<\/p>\n
Biden-isms shined throughout the sometimes rambling, roughly 30-minute speech, as he used the phrases \u201cfolks\u201d and \u201cI mean it sincerely\u201d to make his points. The former president told well-trod stories of growing up in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and of seeing his parents struggle to make ends meet, and he reminisced about his decades on Capitol Hill.<\/p>\n
Biden\u2019s comments were timed with “Social Security Day of Action” on Tuesday to protest what advocates describe as severe threats to the program under the Trump administration. His gradual reemergence comes as other \u2014 more critical \u2014 voices begin to shape the narrative surrounding his term. Biden\u2019s aides have been bracing for the release of several books documenting his physical and mental state before he abandoned his reelection campaign last year, with allies already challenging reporting about his decline<\/a>.<\/p>\n The speaking engagement in Chicago\u2019s River North neighborhood was held just blocks from a high-profile campaign fundraiser<\/a> held last year for Biden before he dropped out of the 2024 presidential race.<\/p>\n The central argument of Biden\u2019s speech Tuesday was that the Trump administration presents an untenable threat to Social Security.<\/p>\n \u201cSocial Security is more than a government program; it\u2019s a sacred promise,” he said.<\/p>\n The White House response to Biden\u2019s speech? \u201cEmbarrassing,\u201d said a spokesperson, who referred POLITICO to the Social Security feed on X<\/a>, which accused Biden of \u201clying to Americans.\u201d<\/p>\n Two former administration officials granted anonymity to discuss private plans said that although Biden wants to remain \u201cengaged,\u201d his speech in Chicago is not necessarily a sign of a more aggressive public schedule. Instead, Biden is expected to pick his spots on specific issues, like Social Security, that matter deeply to him, these officials said. In recent weeks, he\u2019s spoken to the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, accepting an honorary membership, and he dropped in on students at the Model United Nations conference.<\/p>\n \u201cComing out with a big democracy, rule of law speech would have been, maybe, too on the nose, so picking Social Security, something that is real to people … and it matters to him, makes a lot of sense,\u201d said a third former Biden administration official. \u201cNo one would be talking about Social Security tomorrow if Joe Biden wasn\u2019t giving this speech, so that alone is proof positive that he can still command a certain level of attention and ability to set the agenda.”<\/p>\n He\u2019s also working on another book, these officials said.<\/p>\n Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said, “The unprecedented assault on Social Security is an all-hands-on-deck moment that requires all of us to show up, stand up and speak up, which is why President Biden’s voice in this fight is going to be so incredibly important.\u201d<\/p>\n Former Democratic Maryland Gov. Martin O\u2019Malley, who introduced Biden at the event, said he thought the former president waited the \u201cappropriate\u201d (almost) 100 days to make his first big speech. And former Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow, who also was in attendance, said it was \u201cabsolutely\u201d important that Biden speak out on what\u2019s happening in Washington, even as some Democrats still have hard feelings about Biden staying in the campaign as long as he did last year.<\/p>\n Earlier in the day, David Hogg, vice chair of the Democratic National Committee, described Biden\u2019s return to public view as a natural step taken by former presidents who want to share their expertise.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s not gonna stop being involved. He is a workhorse and he wants to get things done and he wants to help with the party,\u201d Hogg said.<\/p>\n But Biden left office with sagging approval ratings, and many Democrats blamed their party\u2019s losses in November on him staying in the presidential race for so long. Hogg, responding to some of the criticism about Biden in 2024, said: \u201cSomebody can be very good at legislating, but not necessarily the right person to be out there on the front and center of things.\u201d<\/p>\n Biden is not the only former world leader stepping out in recent days. Biden\u2019s predecessor, President Barack Obama, took to social media<\/a> on Monday night to criticize the Trump administration\u2019s funding freeze for Harvard University. And on the same day Biden spoke in Chicago, Justin Trudeau, who had been laying low since resigning as Canada\u2019s prime minister last month, was back in public view with an exit interview scheduled to air on a PBS station in Buffalo.<\/p>\n Canada is in the middle of a snap election, and voters have largely moved on from the three-term Liberal leader who was intensely unpopular at the time of his exit. And as with Biden, Liberals in Canada may not be eager to see him back in the spotlight. <\/p>\n