The Trump administration is criticized for reducing social security expenses, decreasing the number of government employees, and its migration policy, branding these actions as “destructive”.
Biden criticized the Trump administration in his first speech since leaving the White House
The former US president Joe Biden, in his first appearance since leaving the White House, criticized Trump’s administration's social security policy.
While speaking at a convention in Chicago, Biden emphasized that the government has "axed" the social security system. Donald Trump and Elon Musk, who currently oversees budget cut reforms in the White House, deem this system as fraught with fraud, according to reports.
The new administration aims to reduce the number of employees at the Social Security Agency, which allocates 1.6 trillion dollars (1.2 trillion pounds sterling) annually.
In his speech on Tuesday, without naming current President Trump, Biden stated, “It is astonishing that the new administration has caused so much damage and destruction in less than 100 days, the rapid occurrence of these events is bewildering,” he said.
Biden delivered this speech at an event focusing on the rights of the disabled and did not touch upon his departure from the White House nor the 2024 presidential elections.
The Social Security Agency (SSA) is an agency in the US that provides the main source of income for individuals who are retired or unable to work due to disability, covering over 67 million Americans, mostly among the elderly.
Representatives of the Democratic Party have been accusing the administration of intending to introduce widespread cuts to the social security system.
The “Department of Government Efficiency” - DOGE, led by Elon Musk, has been implementing reductions in the agency since February. The department planned to cut approximately 10 percent of the agency’s workforce, amounting to 7000 positions. Elon Musk has called the social security system “the largest pyramid scheme in history.”
Donald Trump has previously stated his intention not to reduce social security benefits across the board, but rather to restrict fraudulent claims and payments to illegal migrants.
On Tuesday, Trump signed an executive order prohibiting illegal migrants and “other illegal individuals” from utilizing social security funds.
Before Biden's speech in Chicago, Trump's press secretary Carolyn Levitt made the following statement:
“The President is absolutely firm in his conviction to protect social security for lawful taxpayers and seniors. He will always defend this program.”
Since leaving the White House, the former president Joe Biden has been using the media in a limited way. In February, he signed a contract with the Creative Artists Agency in Los Angeles, which has represented him during the 2017–2020 period.
Additionally, on Tuesday, former president Barack Obama also criticized the Trump administration. In his statement at X, he branded the government's freezing of over 2 billion dollars in federal funds allocated to Harvard University as “illegal and unprofessional”.
Trump has blocked this funding as Harvard University refused to change its admissions, educational programs, and staff selection policies to combat discrimination.
It is important to note that, nearly ten years after leaving the White House, Barack Obama has rarely criticized the current government's activities on social networks.
Abdulloh Sayyid
