(Adnkronos) – “In less than 100 days, this administration has caused so much damage and devastation, it’s shocking that it happened so quickly.” Almost three months after leaving the White House, Joe Biden breaks the silence with a very harsh attack on Donald Trump and his administration, accused of trying to destroy the American pension and welfare system. “They’re using an axe against the Social Security administration, firing 7,000 employees, including the most experienced officials,” the former president said, speaking at a conference in Chicago on disabilities, stating that “the last thing we need is a government that is deliberately cruel”.
“Social Security is not just about retirement, but about respecting the fundamental trust between government and the people, the peace of mind for those who have worked their entire lives,” continued the senior Democrat. “For the first time in history, the first and only time, people are truly worried that their check may be delayed or stopped – continued the Democrat – they received it in times of war, recession, during the pandemic. But now, for the first time, this could change. And this would be a disaster for millions of families, millions of people”.
“They’re following the old motto of tech companies, ‘move fast and break things,’ and they’re certainly breaking things – Biden continued, in what appears to be a reference to Elon Musk, the richest man in the world to whom Trump has entrusted the axe to cut public spending and federal employees – they shoot first and ask questions later, and the result is a lot of unnecessary suffering and sleepless nights”.
Biden’s reference is to the fact that with the dismissal of thousands of employees of the Social Security administration, the website of the agency that manages pensions and welfare has started to have technical problems, it has become difficult to call the toll-free number, not to mention the attempts to access the private data of American citizens. Ahead of the midterm elections, the Democrats intend to make the assault on Social Security one of the cornerstones of their election campaign.
In the press briefing, Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt announced the signing of a memorandum to “prevent illegal aliens and those who are not entitled” from receiving Social Security benefits, reiterating the narrative of the White House and Doge that the axe is only aimed at eliminating fraud and abuse. “I want to be clear before former President Biden’s speech – she then added – this president, President Trump, is absolutely committed to protecting Social Security benefits for law-abiding, tax-paying American citizens and seniors who have paid into the system”.
Then Leavitt moved on to the usual offensive line about Biden’s age and cognitive abilities: “I’m amazed he’s speaking so late at night, I thought he went to bed much earlier,” said the 78-year-old Trump spokeswoman, speaking of the 82-year-old president.
