Washington — Former President Joe Biden is delivering his first public address since leaving office, speaking Tuesday at a Chicago conference focused on protecting Social Security.
Appearing at the Advocates, Counselors, and Representatives for the Disabled conference, Biden is speaking in a keynote address Tuesday evening, according to the conference schedule, as speakers highlight the old-age and disability insurance program that provides monthly payments to about 1 in 5 Americans.
Biden started his remarks by discussing his early years in politics and family background. “My dad used to have an expression. He said, “Joey, a job’s about a lot more than a paycheck. It’s about your dignity. It’s about respect,” Biden said.
The former president then moved on to Social Security, which he called a “sacred promise.” He touted his administration’s efforts to cut Social Security fraud, and mocked claims by the Trump administration — including President Trump’s cost-cutting czar Elon Musk — that scores of implausibly old people are collecting payments.
“By the way, those 300-year-old folk getting that Social Security, I want to meet them,” Biden said. “Hell of a thing, man. I’m looking for longevity.”
He blasted “some Republican members of Congress” for, in his view, seeking to “cut and gut” Social Security: “Who the hell do they think they are?”
Nam Y. Huh / AP
The 82-year-old former president, who left office on Jan. 20, has until now largely remained out of the spotlight. And Biden’s appearance comes as Democrats have sought to reorganize themselves after the party endured bruising losses in the 2024 elections, while President Trump has continued to hurl criticism at his predecessor in the three months since he returned to office.
Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, who served as Commissioner of the Social Security Administration under Biden, is also addressing the conference Tuesday evening, along with former Sens. Roy Blunt of Missouri and Debbie Stabenow of Michigan later in the week.
“We are honored President Biden has selected the 2025 ACRD Conference to address the nation,” O’Malley, an adviser to the group, said in a statement, while citing “widespread concern the progress recently made for Social Security will be tragically reversed.”
The former president’s appearance comes as Democratic leaders have warned of threats to Social Security amid the Trump administration’s slashing of government programs and agencies under the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. Concerns about the health of the program amid recent attempts to significantly shrink the agency have abounded.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is leading his members on a number of days of action focused on opposing the Trump administration as Congress is in recess, with a “Save Social Security Day of Action” Tuesday. The minority leader held a news conference Tuesday morning, where he stressed that Social Security “faces an unprecedented assault.”
“Donald Trump, Elon Musk and House Republicans think that Social Security is a ponzi scheme,” Jeffries said, adding that “it is unacceptable, unconscionable and un-American that Donald Trump, Elon Musk and House Republicans are dismantling and closing Social Security offices, jacking up wait times and preventing hard-working Americans from securing their benefits.”
