Biden accuses Trump of causing 'so much damage' in first speech since leaving office

Former US President Joe Biden has accused the Trump administration of causing “so much damage and so much destruction” in his first major speech since leaving office.

Speaking at a disability rights event in Chicago on Tuesday evening, the 82-year-old Democrat said his successor had “taken a hatchet” to the country’s welfare system.

As part of US President Donald Trump’s efforts to shrink federal spending, his government has targeted the Social Security Administration (SSA) — the agency that provides benefits to more than 70 million Americans.

Although Trump has promised not to cut these benefits, planned job cuts at the SSA have raised fears that they could be delayed or interrupted, something Biden said would be “a calamity for millions of families”.

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) plans to cut 7,000 jobs at the SSA, with the Trump ally in charge of the unofficial body, Elon Musk, claiming that Social Security is “the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time”.

As thousands of staff members have already left the agency, benefit claimants have had to contend with website crashes and unanswered phone lines.

“In fewer than 100 days, this new administration has done so much damage and so much destruction. It's kind of breathtaking,” Biden said on Tuesday.

Referring to the speed with which Trump and Musk have made cuts to federal programmes, Biden added that the new administration was “shooting first and aiming later”.

“Social Security deserves to be protected for the good of the nation as a whole,” Biden said.

The Trump administration pushed back against Biden’s comments, alleging that he was “lying to Americans”.

Jason Turkish, a Michigan-based lawyer who leads one of the country's largest disability law firms, said many of his 32,000 clients were worried about changes at the SSA.

“We go from Republican to Democrat, Democrat to Republican and there's always been a belief that Social Security is just something we do not touch,” he said.

Since leaving office earlier this year, Biden has kept a relatively low profile. He was seen at the opening night of Othello on Broadway recently and has been regularly commuting from his home in Delaware to his post-presidential office in Washington.