Attack on Trump's people Joe Biden is furious: "Who the hell do they think they are?"
Joe Biden is back on the political stage with harsh words and visible anger. Even Donald Trump felt compelled to respond.
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- In a speech, Joe Biden accused the Trump administration of systematically weakening social security.
- He defended his own term in office with concrete improvements to the social security system and spoke of a "sacred promise" that must be protected.
- The reaction from Trump's camp was not long in coming: assurances were given that the program would be preserved in the future.
In his first major public speech since leaving the White House, the 82-year-old accused Donald Trump of deliberately destroying the American welfare system.
"You have taken an axe to the Social Security Administration," Biden shouted at a conference of disability advocates in Chicago. Trump's government is leaving behind a picture of devastation: "They are causing damage and destruction."
«They shoot first and aim second.»
Former US President
Biden warned that Trump and his allies want to destabilize the institution. In less than 100 days, the new government has cut thousands of jobs, including many experienced professionals. They would use Silicon Valley methods - or as Biden put it: "Move fast and break things". Move fast and break things. Biden said: "They do indeed destroy things. But they shoot first and aim afterwards."
People are feeling the consequences directly. The telephone numbers of social security offices are flooded with calls. Many people no longer know whether the money is still coming. His appeal: "Social security deserves to be protected for the good of the entire nation."
Biden defends social security as a "sacred promise"
Biden's anger was about more than just distribution issues and bureaucracy. For him, Social Security is a moral promise. "It is more than a government program. It is a sacred promise to the people." Everyone has a right to security in old age or illness, he said.
Biden rejected the Republican rhetoric - for example that social security is a "Ponzi scheme" or is being plundered by illegal immigrants - as "big lies" and asked: "What the hell are they actually talking about?" He continued: "People deserve these benefits. They pay into it for years. They rely on this support. And nobody - nobody, nobody, nobody - has the right to take that away from them."
«Who the hell do they think they are, anyway»
former US president
At another point, he again raised hell when he spoke of the "huge tax giveaways to billionaires and big corporations". Trump's people would finance this through debt and cuts to social programs. Public health insurance would also be targeted.
Biden made his outrage clear and explained that the Republicans were prepared to harm the middle and working classes in order to create even more wealth for the super-rich. He then posed the question: "Who the hell do they think they are?"
Trump's top aides watched Biden speech
According to CNN, many Democrats hoped that Biden would simply quietly enjoy his retirement and not make any public statements. The fact that he has now gone public after all also seems to concern Donald Trump.
His press secretary Karoline Leavitt responded with a statement shortly after Biden's speech, explaining: "President Trump is absolutely certain that he will protect Social Security benefits for law-abiding, taxpaying American citizens and seniors who have paid into this program," she told reporters. "He will always protect that program."