In GOP-held Florida, Biden says no cuts for Social Security
With an eye toward the 2024 campaign, President Joe Biden took direct aim at Republicans who have floated cuts to Social Security and Medicare — telling an audience in Florida on Thursday that he would create a “nightmare” for anyone who dreamed of doing so.
Venturing into a state defined by its growing retiree population and status as the unofficial headquarters of the modern-day Republican Party, the president sees a chance to use Social Security and Medicare to drive a wedge between GOP lawmakers and their base of older voters who rely on these programs for income and health insurance.
Biden is trying to lay the groundwork for an expected reelection campaign announcement this spring. Florida is also home to some of his potential biggest Republican rivals during next year’s race.
White House aides have been using the votes and words of Republican lawmakers to make their case that Social Security and Medicare benefits are under threat, while GOP leaders say their statements are being mischaracterized.
Even as Biden said his focus is on getting things done, his speech in Tampa — and remarks the day before in Wisconsin — showed how he’s trying to rally the public to his side now that Republicans control the House. In a politically divided country, the ability to get support from older voters who rely on the programs could decide which party holds the White House as well as Congress in the 2024 elections.
At the lectern Thursday, Biden held up a pamphlet about Florida Sen. Rick Scott in which the Republican said
he wants to require that the programs be reauthorized every five years.
“I know that a lot of Republicans
— their dream is to cut Social Security and Medicare,” Biden said. “If that’s your dream, I’m your nightmare.”
Leading Republican lawmakers insist that spending cuts to Social Security and Medicare are off the table with regard to reaching a deal to increase the government’s legal borrowing authority. But enough prominent Republicans have broached the subject that Biden told his audience Thursday that, “I’ll believe it when I see it.”
“I will not cut a single Social Security or Medicare benefit,” the president continued. “In fact, I’m going to extend the Medicare trust fund for two decades.”
During Tuesday’s State of the Union address, GOP lawmakers jeered when Biden referred to Scott’s proposal. The president seized on the impromptu moment, urging Republicans and Democrats alike to pledge to avoid cuts to the income and health insurance programs.