[Text/Observer Network Chen Sijia] On the evening of April 15, former US President Biden delivered his first public speech after leaving office, targeting the layoff plan and social security policy of the current President Trump. According to AP reports, Biden criticized the Trump administration for causing "serious damage" to the United States. He accused the Trump administration of attempting to cut social security and use the funds to give tax cuts to billionaires and large corporations.

The White House seemed to "predict" the content of Biden's speech and responded in advance. Shortly before Biden's speech, White House spokesperson Caroline Leavitt emphasized at a press conference that Trump would not cut social security. Leavitt also mocked Biden's health condition: "I thought he went to bed much earlier than the time of tonight's speech."

Reportedly, Biden attended the American National Disability Advocates, Advisors, and Delegates Congress held in Chicago on April 15. This was his first major public appearance since leaving office. Biden gave a speech at the meeting, focusing on American social security issues and criticizing the layoff plan and social security policies of the Trump administration.

Biden said: "In less than 100 days, this new administration has caused so much harm and destruction. It's really shocking how quickly all of this happened." He pointed out that the Trump administration is implementing a "radical" layoff plan, dismissing thousands of employees from the Social Security Administration, which has had a significant impact on American citizens.

"More than 7,000 employees have been laid off, including experienced senior officials. They are now preparing to lay off thousands more," Biden said. "We can already see the effects. For example, thousands of people visit the Social Security Administration website every day to check benefits and submit applications. Now, half of the technical department of the agency has been laid off. As a result, the website has crashed, and people cannot log into their accounts."

Video screenshot of former US President Biden's speech in Chicago

Biden claimed that American Republicans are deliberately destroying the Social Security Administration to "plunder" the Social Security Trust Fund. He accused Trump of trying to divert funds from Social Security to promote tax cuts.

Biden said: "Why do they want to deprive it? To give tax cuts to billionaires and large corporations. They want to make the 2017 tax cuts permanent, which will benefit the richest Americans and the largest companies. This will cost $5 trillion. Where will they get this money? They will continue to increase the deficit and take money from other places."

He compared the Trump administration's policies to "the old tricks of tech startups": "They follow the old saying of tech startups: move fast and break things. They are indeed breaking everything, shooting first and aiming later, resulting in unnecessary pain for many people."

AP noted that Biden did not mention Trump's name in his speech but referred to him as "this guy".

The White House seemed to "predict" the content of Biden's speech and responded in advance. White House spokesperson Caroline Leavitt said at a press conference on April 15: "Let me make it clear before former President Biden speaks: President Trump has absolute confidence in protecting the Social Security benefits for law-abiding taxpayers and elderly contributors. He will always protect this project."

Leavitt said that Trump will sign a memorandum revoking the eligibility of illegal immigrants to receive Social Security benefits. He will expand the fraud prosecutor program of the Social Security Administration to cover at least 50 U.S. Attorney Offices and establish prosecution projects for Medicare and Medicaid fraud in 15 U.S. Attorney Offices.

Leavitt also mocked Biden's health condition: "I am shocked by his ability to give speeches at night. I thought his bedtime would be much earlier than the time of tonight's speech."

The Social Security Administration then posted on social platform X, claiming that Biden "lied to the American people."

Video screenshot of White House spokesperson Leavitt

American Democrats and Republicans generally expect Social Security to become one of the key issues in the 2026 midterm elections. Therefore, the speech on April 15 was seen as Biden's "brief return to the national political stage", aimed at promoting the Democratic agenda and seeking support. However, not all Democrats are happy to see Biden's "comeback".

Democratic activist Norman Solomon said: "The best role Biden can play in the future is to stay away from the public stage. This may sound harsh, but frankly speaking, his 'self-centered' mindset has caused great harm to the Democratic Party and the United States."

AP pointed out that since the Trump administration took office, he has implemented layoffs in several government agencies, including the Social Security Administration, and imposed stricter identity verification measures on Social Security beneficiaries. Many Americans began to complain about long phone wait times and frequent anomalies in the Social Security Administration's portal.

The White House insisted that the Trump administration would not cut Social Security, and any policy changes were aimed at "reducing fraud and waste".

This article is an exclusive contribution from Observer Network and unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.

Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7493745395550487040/

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author. Please express your attitude by using the "like/dislike" buttons below.