Washington, April 16 (NationPress) – In his initial public statement after his presidency, former US President Joe Biden on Tuesday criticized the Donald Trump administration for its "deliberate cruelty" in shrinking the federal agency responsible for delivering post-retirement benefits to retirees.

At 82, the former president displayed signs of age but bore little resemblance to the candidate who participated in the pivotal presidential debate against Donald Trump in the summer of 2024, which significantly hindered his chances for a second term and paved the way for former Vice-President Kamala Harris. Despite relying on a teleprompter, he articulated his points with clarity and conviction.

“The last thing they need from their government is deliberate cruelty,” Biden stated, referring to the Trump administration's attempts to downsize the Social Security Administration, the agency that allocates post-retirement benefits funded by federal taxes from employees and employers. This initiative bears some similarity to India’s provident fund scheme.

“Social Security encompasses more than just retirement accounts,” he emphasized. “It's about upholding a fundamental trust between the government and its citizens.”

While he refrained from directly mentioning President Donald Trump or his advisers, including billionaire Elon Musk, his comments clearly indicated whom he was targeting.

Musk was indirectly referenced through his characterization of the social security system as a Ponzi Scheme (a fraudulent investment operation that pays returns to earlier investors using the capital of newer investors). He also alluded to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s disregard for delays affecting his 94-year-old mother-in-law. Although Trump was not explicitly named, Biden alluded to the deficits incurred during his first-term tax cuts.

While Biden is often unpopular in Trump circles, he also faces criticism from within his own Democratic party. Many blame him for Trump's return to the White House, arguing he lingered too long and failed to allow the party enough time to cultivate a strong presidential candidate through the rigors of the primary process. Critics label Harris as untested and thus vulnerable.

Despite Trump campaigning on a promise not to cut or eliminate social security—which has been a target of Republican criticism for years, labeled as a burden on the state budget—his administration's campaign against wasteful government spending, led by Musk’s efficiency department (abbreviated as DOGE, akin to a cryptocurrency), has aimed to cut approximately 7,000 jobs from the Social Security Administration.

Referring to these reductions, the former president remarked that in “fewer than 100 days (of taking office), this new administration has … caused tremendous damage and destruction, which is quite astonishing.”