Former United States President Joe Biden has delivered his first major speech since leaving office, defending retirement aid that he says is threatened by President Donald Trump’s sweeping administrative reforms.

Speaking to disability advocates in Chicago, Biden said the Trump administration’s cuts to the federal workforce, spearheaded by billionaire ally Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), were causing a “breathtaking” level of destruction.

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“Fewer than 100 days, this administration has done so much damage, and so much destruction – it’s kind of breathtaking it could happen that soon,” Biden said.

“They’ve taken a hatchet to the Social Security, pushing 7,000 employees out the door,” said the former president, referring to the national agency which pays out retirement and disability benefits.

The 82-year-old Democrat spoke for about 30 minutes, displaying at times the signs of ageing that prompted him to give up his re-election campaign last year, including occasional stumbles in his delivery.

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Trump highlighted Biden’s verbal missteps by posting a video clip of a portion of his remarks that came across as disjointed.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) also responded to Biden’s claims, accusing the former president of “lying” about the agency’s reform efforts in a post on X.

The SSA, created in 1935 by then-president Franklin D Roosevelt, pays out $1.4 trillion in benefits to 73 million elderly and disabled US citizens annually. During Trump’s election campaign, he repeatedly promised not to cut those benefits.

But members of the DOGE team have been auditing the agency, which Musk has slammed as “the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time”. DOGE plans to cut at least 7,000 staff and close down offices.

Meanwhile, Social Security recipients have complained about long call wait times, with the agency’s benefits portal suffering increased outages.

“People can’t sign on to their accounts,” Biden said in his address. “Who in the hell do they think they are?” he said of the Trump administration.

Individuals eligible for Supplemental Security Income, including disabled seniors and low-income adults and children, have also reported receiving a message informing them they were “not receiving benefits”, a notice the agency has said was a mistake.

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“They’re shooting first and aiming later,” Biden alleged. “They want to wreck it so they can rob it. Why do they want to rob it? In order to give tax cuts to billionaires and big corporations.”

‘Distracts from Trump’

Some Democrats had misgivings about Biden’s speech, saying it might be better for him not to re-enter the political fray.

Karen Finney, a Democratic strategist, said many Democrats are concerned that Biden’s appearance will distract from the political and economic blowback Trump is getting for triggering a trade war with China and imposing tariffs on other countries.

“We are finally beginning to see cracks in the armour in terms of Trump’s policies,” Finney said. “You don’t want to become a lightning rod that distracts from Trump. And it could make it easy for Trump to change the subject to Biden.”

Biden left office in January with one of the lowest approval ratings for a president after the second world war, at 38 percent, according to an opinion poll by Reuters/Ipsos, after a four-year term marked by high inflation, foreign policy contention and questions about his mental acuity. Many Democrats blamed him for Trump’s victory.

Presidential historian Timothy Naftali said it was important for Biden to speak out about Social Security, precisely because of his age.

“I understand why some Democrats would like Biden to fade away,” Naftali said. “But a very important part of the Democratic base remains older people on Social Security, and Joe Biden has always been their champion.”

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