CHICAGO — Former President Joe Biden used his first public remarks since leaving office in January to rebuke the Trump administration’s approach to Social Security, saying its cuts were already putting the institution in peril for millions of deserving Americans.
In a roughly half hour of remarks Tuesday before disability advocates, Biden — often speaking in a subdued, hushed tone — did not mention President Donald Trump by name, referring to him instead as “this guy” and held back from robust criticism of the administration.
Biden more broadly took aim at Trump’s tenure so far saying that in “fewer than 100 days, this new administration has made so much … damage and so much destruction. It’s kind of breathtaking.”
“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 said. “Granted, it’s roughly 30%, but it’s a 30% that has no heart.”
It’s not clear what group of people the 30%-remark was referring to.
White House spokesman Steven Cheung sharply criticized Biden, saying his “incoherent speech” showed he had a “feeble mind” in a “rapid decline to new lows.”
“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. Anybody saying otherwise is either stupid or an all-out liar, or both in Biden’s case,” Cheung said.
Despite a regular churn of verbal abuse from Trump, it was the first time Biden spoke publicly since leaving the White House on Jan. 20. But on Tuesday, he did not offer a defense of himself or his own administration.
At times, it was difficult to hear Biden — so much so that those in the room at the event remained still and quiet to hear him speak.
Trump routinely chastises Biden, having called him “the worst president in American history.” He frequently characterizes Biden’s tenure as a mess that his administration must now clean up, particularly with regard to border security. In the earliest days of his second term, Trump repeatedly blamed lagging economic indicators on Biden. Soon, however, it was Trump’s own topsy-turvy tariff policies that threw the stock market into disarray.
Biden’s address came before a conference for Advocates, Counselors and Representatives for the Disabled (ACRD) at the Sofitel Hotel on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile. The group’s meeting focused on strengthening Social Security at a moment when the Trump administration has set its sights on revamping the agency in a way that beneficiaries fear could put them in peril.
Last month, Biden spoke at a National High Schools Model United Nations event, but it was not open to members of the press.
Biden left office deeply at odds with his own party, which pressured the 82-year-old to abandon his reelection bid in the wake of a devastating presidential debate against Trump last June in which Biden struggled at times to express a clear thought. The debacle exacerbated long-standing concerns about the then-president’s age and mental capacity.
Biden’s vice president, Kamala Harris, claimed the Democratic nomination and embarked on a whirlwind, 107-day campaign against Trump that shattered fundraising records, offering fleeting hope to the party. Ultimately, Harris went on to lose against Trump, including in each of six battleground states as well as the popular vote.
In January, Biden said in an interview that he believed he could have defeated Trump if he had run again — but at the same time, he admitted in the same USA Today interview that he was unsure he could have served out a full term.
Brennan Leach contributed.
