President Joe Biden blasted Republicans for wanting to cut social programs as he kicked off the final week of campaigning before the midterm elections, as Democrats braced for a possible Republican red wave in next week’s election.
Biden was speaking at a senior citizens’ center, where he blasted Republicans for wanting Republicans, who he claims want to cut welfare programs and raise taxes on the rich — a topic of interest to a state with a large population of retirees.
The president also credited his policy for halving the federal deficit, although most of the reduction came with the end of COVID relief funding.
“I came to Florida today to speak about two very, very, very important programs,” he said. “It will affect as many Americans as anything else.”
He described Social Security and Medicare as “under siege from our Republican friends.”
Biden ended his speech by saying he hopes God “gives some enlightenment to some of our Republican friends,” in a farewell shot at GOP senators including Rick Scott and Lindsey Graham.
Biden also caught himself talking about the high cost of living that the war in Iraq has brought to Americans, but he quickly corrected himself and said he meant the war in Ukraine.
He said he was thinking of his son Beau, who was serving in Iraq. Beau died in the United States in 2015 from an aggressive brain tumor believed to have been caused by his exposure to cremation pits.
President Joe Biden blasted Republicans for wanting to cut social programs early in the final week of campaigning
Biden read from a pamphlet by Republican Senator Rick Scott
He also noted under his administration that “for the first time again we’re seeing an increase in their Social Security and Medicare” — an announcement that was met with great acclaim.
‘So the checks will fail. Medicare premiums are going to go down and it looks like it’s going to be a big deal for seniors,” he said.
“Let me say something. I want to point out something. You talk about big spending by the Democrats. Yes, I spent a ton of money doing these things, but guess why,” he said. “We’ve halved the deficit,” he said, lowering his voice to a whisper to get his point across.
The President seemed visibly frustrated by the Republicans’ argument against his leadership of the economy. Voters have said the economy and inflation are their top concerns — and they give Biden low marks for his handling of both issues.
‘Give me a break. I’m so sick and I shouldn’t be getting it,” Biden trailed off his voice as he took the stage. But the crowd cheered and continued to encourage him.
“As my granddaughter used to say, Google, I mean business,” the president told the crowd.
Biden has repeatedly slapped Republicans for wanting to change the two major state welfare programs.
The President has repeatedly made the policy proposals of Florida Republican Senator Rick Scott a bogeyman in the election, citing the senator by name in his criticism of the GOP.
He did so again on Tuesday in Florida. Holding up a pamphlet, he read aloud Scott’s plan for Medicare, Social Security and other government programs to be put to a vote every five years.
“A Florida senator who handles Social Security and Medicaid?” he said. “You might even believe it, you might not even believe it. Again word for word. All federal laws, Sunsets means, go away in five years.’
“These programs are doing something so fundamental and so important,” Biden said of them.
Biden began his remarks by discussing all of the support his administration has offered the state in recovering from Hurricane Ian. He said the federal government approved $1.7 billion in federal grants, prompting cheers, applause and cheers from the audience.
Biden will run for Democratic gubernatorial nominee Charlie Crist and Senate hopeful Val Demings in the Sunshine State, even as he avoids some of the bigger battleground competitions like Georgia, Nevada and Arizona.
Before his trip, Biden boarded Air Force One with a copy of Jon Meacham’s new book And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle.
The biography examines how, before the 1864 election and during the Civil War, Lincoln placed his politics and the end of slavery above his own future.
Lincoln’s Republican Party also performed poorly during the 1862 midterm election, with the Democrats winning several seats and ending their majority.
Polls suggest Biden could face a similar fate in the 2022 midterm elections, with polls suggesting Republicans will firmly take control of the House of Representatives and have a path to winning a majority in the Senate.
“Lincoln was a politician, but he was a politician ultimately driven by conscience,” Meacham told NPR. “That’s my whole argument in the book. If he had only been a cynical political being, he would have made radically different decisions at critical points.”
President Joe Biden begins the week leading up to the Midterms with a visit to Florida on Tuesday. He was holding Jon Meacham’s book And There Was Light – Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle as he boarded the plane
Meacham’s book examines how Lincoln wanted to prioritize emancipation and democracy over his own political future. Lincoln’s Republican Party also did poorly in the midterms
He will appear in Donald Trump’s home state to slam “MAGA Republicans” who he claims want to cut welfare programs and raise taxes on the wealthy
Crist succeeds Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis who is seeking a second term. And Deming is up against GOP Senator Marco Rubio in a contest that will help decide which party controls the Senate next year.
The president, who is struggling with low approval ratings, is spending his final week on the campaign trail trying to find contrast between his Democrats and Republicans as voters prepare for the Nov. 8 election.
He will deliver his closing arguments at stops in New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Maryland over the next seven days.
He’s not the only Democrat campaigning. Jill Biden travels to Pennsylvania on Wednesday. Barack Obama, meanwhile, will be in Nevada on Tuesday for Democratic Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, who faces a tough re-election campaign and travels to Arizona on Wednesday to campaign for Senator Mark Kelly.
University of North Florida pollster Michael Binder told the Palm Beach Post that Biden’s visit may be “six months late” because millions of Florida voters have already cast their ballots in an early voting.
Election forecasters believe the Republicans have a good chance of gaining control of the House of Representatives. The Senate is considered more tangible.
Winning control of even one chamber of Congress would allow the GOP to stymie Biden’s legislative agenda for the next two years.
Trump, meanwhile, will hold a rally in Miami on Sunday, although he will generally support Republicans. DeSantis, who is rumored to be a 2024 presidential nominee, is not scheduled to appear with him.
Florida has become an increasingly difficult state to win for the Democrats. Trump wore it in 2016 and 2020.
DeSantis used anti-Covid sentiment to push back against shutdown restrictions and signed anti-vaccination mandates into law.
Biden is trying to increase turnout but is staying away from most battleground states.
The president has not been to Arizona, Nevada or Georgia – three states that helped establish the White House – nor is he expected to be. All three states have hard-fought Senate races.
The President will join Barack Obama in Philadelphia on Saturday to campaign for gubernatorial nominee Josh Shaprio and Senate nominee John Fetterman.
With the Senate currently sitting at 50-50 – and Vice President Kamala Harris providing the casting vote – any race could decide which party has the majority next year.
President Joe Biden will be campaigning for Democratic gubernatorial nominee Charlie Crist and Democratic gubernatorial nominee Charlie Crist in the Sunshine State
Donald Trump will hold a pro-Republican rally in Miami on Sunday