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Biden returns to podium for first time to slam Trump’s Social Security plans: ‘Wreck it so they could rob it’
Former President Joe Biden took shots at the Trump administration’s Social Security policies in his first major speech since leaving the White House on Tuesday evening.
«Seriously, people are now genuinely concerned for the first time in history, for the first and only time in history, that Social Security benefits may be delayed or interrupted,» Biden said from the Advocates, Counselors and Representatives for the Disabled (ACRD) conference in Chicago on Tuesday evening.
«In the 90 years since Franklin Roosevelt created the Social Security system, people have always gotten their Social Security checks. They’ve gotten them during wartime, during recessions, during the pandemic. No matter what, they got them. But now, for the first time ever, that might change. It would be a calamity for millions of families, millions of people,» he added.
The ACRD conference was billed as the 46th president’s first public speech since leaving the White House. Biden, however, has delivered other public remarks since Jan. 20, Fox Digital found, including speaking before the National High School Model United Nations in March, which received little media attention, as well as joining an International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers event this month.
ACRD is an advocacy organization that works to equip «disability professionals with the tools, technology, and training to lead the industry forward,» according to its website.
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President Joe Biden speaks in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on Sept. 15, 2023. (Chris Kleponis/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Biden’s keynote address, which ran less than an hour, overwhelmingly focused on his accomplishments with Social Security when he was president, taking aim at how the Trump administration is allegedly keeping the elderly up at night with worry over their Social Security benefits, as well as cracking a few jokes about his decades in politics.
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Biden had a disastrous debate performance against Trump in 2024. (Getty Images)
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«Why are these guys taking aim at Social Security now?» Biden asked, referring to the Trump administration. «Well, they’re following that old line from tech startups. The quote is, ‘Move fast, break things.’ They’re certainly breaking things. They’re shooting first and aiming later.»
«The result is a lot of needless pain and sleepless nights,» Biden said.
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The Trump administration has cut about 7,000 Social Security Administration staffers since taking office as part of its mission to cut government fat and bureaucracy and realign agencies with «America First» policies. Democrats have slammed President Donald Trump over the cuts, claiming he will cut Social Security benefits to seniors.
The White House has repeatedly rejected claims that the Trump administration will cut such benefits, vowing to «always protect» Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid benefits.
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden greet President-elect Donald Trump and Melania Trump at the White House on Jan. 20, 2025. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)
Biden continued that the Trump administration is allegedly looking to «wreck» Social Security to «rob it.»
«My friend, [Maryland] Gov. [Martin] O’Malley, knows what they’re really up to. He says, and I love his quote, ‘They want to wreck it so they could rob it.’ They want to wreck it so they could rob it. Why do they want to rob it? In order to deliver huge tax cuts to billionaires and big corporations and keep it going. They want to make permanent the 2017 tax cuts, which overwhelmingly benefits the wealthiest Americans and the biggest corporations. That’s going to cost $5 trillion. Where are they going to get $5 trillion to pay for when they continue to run the deficit up?»
«What they always do … by running up the national debt, No. 1, then by taking the money from someplace else. What are the two big pots of money out there in raw numbers? Social Security and Medicaid. … Republicans, these guys are willing to hurt the middle class and the working class in order to deliver significant, greater wealth to their already very wealthy [friends]. Who in the hell do they think they are?» he said.
President Joe Biden is shown at the White House on Nov. 27, 2023. (Michael Reynolds/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Former Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., and former Democrat Social Security Administrator and Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley joined the event. O’Malley presented Biden with ACRD’s «beacon of hope award» for his accomplishments as president, including his leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic and fighting for the «dignity of every person.»
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Biden added that the nation is «divided» under Trump and can’t continue on the same path.
«We can’t go on like this as a divided nation, as divided as we are. I said, I’ve been doing this a long time, it’s never been this divided. Granted, it’s roughly 30%, but it’s a 30% that has no heart,» he continued.
The Trump administration’s official Social Security X account hit back after the speech that «Biden is lying to Americans» before providing a detailed list of «facts,» including that Trump has repeatedly pledged to protect benefits and that no field office has been closed since Jan. 20.
«SSA is taking commonsense steps to transform how we serve the public – last month, we spent $16.5 million to modernize telephone services nationwide. We’re developing cutting-edge, AI-powered tools to streamline simple tasks,» the thread continued. «SSA Inspector General report released while Joe Biden was President found $72 billion in improper payments from fiscal years 2015 through 2022.»
The event comes as political books investigating the 2024 campaign cycle hit the shelves, including «Uncharted: How Trump Beat Biden, Harris, and the Odds in the Wildest Campaign in History» and «FIGHT: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House.»
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Excerpts from Chris Whipple’s «Uncharted» reported that White House staffers allegedly kept Biden from socializing with others, including close allies and friends, out of fear the 46th president «might say the wrong thing or might feed the mental acuity narrative.» He also appeared «absolutely exhausted» ahead of his ill-fated debate against Trump in June, according to the book, which opened the floodgates to public concern over Biden’s mental acuity as he tripped over his words and lost his train of thought during the debate.
President Joe Biden (Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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Biden has been spending his days in both Delaware and the nation’s capital since his Oval Office exit, with the 46th president working on his own book while also meeting with various Democratic Party leaders, NBC News reported in March.
Joe Biden,Social Security,Politics,Donald Trump,Chicago
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GOP senators say Trump’s strikes ‘significantly degraded’ Iran but emphasize attacks not ‘forever wars’
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PALM BEACH, Fla. — One week into the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran, two Republican senators on the Senate Armed Services Committee say the military operation has «degraded» Tehran’s ability to strike back.
But in exclusive interviews with Fox News Digital, senators Rick Scott of Florida and Ted Budd of North Carolina emphasized the fighting will not lead to U.S. involvement in «forever wars» in the volatile Middle East.
«Our military is doing a great job,» Scott said. Pointing to Iran, he added, «They want to destroy America. We’ve got to stop them.»
Budd highlighted that «we have significantly degraded Iran’s ability to shoot back at us. … Their capacities are degraded. We’ve had great success.»
Budd and Scott spoke while attending an economic conference in Florida hosted by the Club for Growth, an influential and politically potent conservative group that pushes for fiscal responsibility.
President Donald Trump, who called for Iran’s «unconditional surrender,» said Saturday that Tehran will be «hit very hard» and warned the U.S. is considering «areas and groups» not previously considered as targets.
Over the past week, Operation Epic Fury has widened in scope as Iran has retaliated against a growing number of nations in the region. This week, the Republican-controlled House and Senate, in separate votes nearly entirely along party lines, rejected moves by Democrats to restrict the president’s ability to steer the fighting.
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The president said Thursday in an interview with Axios he should be involved in choosing Iran’s next leader. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in the initial strikes against Iran a week ago.
And there are concerns among many on the right that the strikes against Iran could lead to prolonged American military involvement in the region, which Trump has repeatedly campaigned against during his three runs for the presidency.
It’s been one week since the U.S. and Israeli launched military strikes against Iran. (Contributor/Getty Images)
«Trump doesn’t want to be in forever wars. Every time I’ve talked to him, he doesn’t want that,» Scott said. «But I think what we do want to make sure we don’t have another Ayatollah that wants to … chant ‘Death to America’ and ‘death to our allies’ and try to destroy us.»
Budd added that «we’re not up for forever wars. We want to get in, get this thing done, get out and have peace for our country and the rest of the region.»
The latest Fox News national poll indicated that American voters are divided on the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran even as a majority sees the country as a security risk.
Sixty-one percent of those questioned viewed Iran as a danger to the U.S., according to the survey conducted Feb. 28-March 2. But that concern did not translate into majority support for the current U.S. military action, as 50% approved and 50% disapproved.
Support for the attacks was lower in national polling from other news organizations.
But the Fox News poll and the other surveys indicated widespread support among Republicans.
«Trump’s doing the right thing. He’s saving American lives by making sure that Iran does not have a nuclear weapon or ballistic missile. So, he’s doing the right thing,» Scott emphasized.
Budd added, «I’m very excited [about] what President Trump’s done. … The goal is American prosperity and American safety, and that’s what President Trump wants.»
Oil prices have shot up since the start of the fighting, instantly resulting in higher costs for gasoline across America. That’s a major concern for Republicans as they aim to keep control of the House and Senate majorities in this year’s midterm elections.
A driver refuels a vehicle at a Wawa gas station in Media, Pa., March 2, 2026. Oil and gas prices have shot up in the past week amid the strikes against Iran. (Matthew Hatcher/Bloomberg/Getty Images)
«Hopefully it’s all going to be short term. Hopefully … the demolition of the Iranian military will happen quickly and actually will get lower oil prices,» Scott said.
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Budd acknowledged «we are going to have some short-term disruptions.»
But the senator was optimistic that «very soon we’ll have gas prices much cheaper than ever before. We were already on that pathway. President Trump is all about stability. He’s all about the price of oil.»
donald trump,war with iran,iran,ted budd,republicans,middle east foreign policy,defense
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Trump amenaza a Irán con una «destrucción total» y advierte que habrá muchos más muertos
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Al menos 12 muertos y un edificio residencial destruido tras nuevos bombardeos rusos en Kharkiv
Rusia lanzó una oleada de misiles y drones por toda Ucrania la noche del viernes al sábado, una ofensiva que dejó al menos 12 muertos y redujo a escombros un edificio de apartamentos en la ciudad Kharkiv, en el este.
Los reporteros de AFP en esta ciudad, la segunda más poblada de Ucrania antes de la guerra, observaron a los equipos de rescate buscando entre los restos del destrozado bloque de viviendas de estilo soviético de cinco plantas.
Los equipos temen que todavía haya residentes atrapados bajo las ruinas después del ataque de misil, que mató a diez personas, según las autoridades locales.
“Desde la pasada noche, se están retirando los escombros de un edificio residencial en Kharkiv tras un ataque con un misil balístico ruso”, dijo el presidente ucraniano, Volodimir Zelensky, en un mensaje en redes sociales.
El ataque se cobró la vida de una maestra de primaria y de su hijo, informó el alcalde Igor Terejov. Otra mujer murió junto a su hija adolescente, añadió.
La arremetida dejó también varios heridos, incluyendo dos niños, de 6 y 11 años, y una joven de 17.
Zelensky aseguró que Rusia lanzó 29 misiles y 480 drones contra su territorio. Durante la noche, las autoridades activaron la alerta por ataque aéreo en todo el país.
Los ataques también impactaron infraestructura energética y ferroviaria del país, dijo el mandatario.
También afirmó haber informado al presidente francés, Emmanuel Macron, sobre las consecuencias de los ataques durante una conversación telefónica.
Durante la llamada, Zelensky subrayó que era importante que el paquete de ayuda de 90.000 millones de euros de la Unión Europea, así como la próxima ronda de sanciones contra Rusia —actualmente bloqueada por Hungría— “se apliquen finalmente”
Moscú afirmó haber llevado a cabo un “ataque masivo de alta precisión” contra objetivos militares en Ucrania. Rusia niega sistemáticamente haber atacado infraestructuras civiles.
Otra persona murió en la región oriental de Dnipropetrovsk, y un joven de 24 años falleció cuando su coche fue alcanzado por un dron en la región de Sumi, limítrofe con Rusia, dijeron autoridades locales.
En Zaporizhzhia, en el sur, un ataque ruso causó un herido, un bebé, anunció en Telegram el jefe de la administración regional, Ivan Fedorov.
Además, tres personas resultaron heridas en Kiev y otras dos en Chuguiv, en la región de Járkov, según autoridades locales.
(AFP)
Durante el ataque nocturno ruso, la Fuerza Aérea polaca indicó en la red social X que había desplegado aviones militares para proteger su espacio aéreo en las regiones fronterizas con Ucrania, como suele hacer en caso de ofensivas a gran escala.
Esta nueva andanada de misiles y drones ocurre después de un intercambio de 500 prisioneros por bando entre Moscú y Kiev, en virtud de los acuerdos alcanzados durante la última ronda de negociaciones en Ginebra.
Sin embargo, el diálogo parece estancado por la falta de avances significativos y el estallido de la guerra en Oriente Medio.
Según Ucrania, había intenciones de celebrar una nueva ronda de negociaciones esta semana en Abu Dabi, pero la capital de Emiratos Árabes ha sido una de las ciudades golpeadas por los misiles y drones iraníes esta semana.
El lunes, Zelensky sugirió que el próximo encuentro podía tener lugar en Suiza o Turquía, países que ya han acogido rondas previas de diálogo.
La guerra en Oriente Medio también puede repercutir en las capacidades de defensa de Ucrania, que depende en gran medida de los suministros armamentísticos de Estados Unidos.
El responsable de Defensa de la Unión Europea, Andrius Kubilius, advirtió el viernes que Washington no tendrá capacidad para garantizar misiles para su ejército, para sus aliados en el Golfo impactados por los ataques de Teherán y para Ucrania.
Por ello, “se ha vuelto más urgente para nosotros, en Europa, aumentar la producción de sistemas de defensa aérea y de misiles balísticos”, insistió Kubilius.
(Con información de AFP)
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