(Tampa) Joe Biden promised Thursday during a trip to Florida that he would be the Republicans’ “nightmare” if they attacked social benefits.
“The dream of many Republicans is to eliminate ‘Social Security’ and ‘Medicare'”, respectively an old age assistance program and health insurance for the elderly, affirmed the American president.
“If this is your dream, then I am your nightmare,” said the 80-year-old Democrat, promising to block any legislative attempt in this direction.
Joe Biden, who already seems to be campaigning for the 2024 presidential election even if he is not an official candidate, is seeking to continue the contest that began in Congress on Tuesday during his State of the Union address.
He criticized the Conservatives for wanting to sacrifice these two programs, popular with Americans, in the name of budgetary discipline.
This prompted indignant denials and cries of “Liar! on the opposition benches.
Joe Biden then welcomed, ironically, this “conversion” of his opponents to the merits of the welfare state.
The Republican staff, in the midst of a budgetary showdown with the White House, is calling for massive cuts in public spending, but assures that it will not attack these social systems.
“I’ll believe it when I see it,” Joe Biden said Thursday.
In a state that has, he recalled, “the highest percentage of senior citizens in the entire nation”, he praised his reforms and his plans to bring down sometimes astronomical medical expenses.
The president also attacked Governor Ron DeSantis, a hard-right figure, accusing him of not accepting federal aid allowing disadvantaged people to have minimum health coverage.
“More than 1.1 million people in Florida would be eligible […] if Governor DeSantis would just say ‘I agree,’” Joe Biden said.
Florida is one of the US states with the highest percentage of residents without health insurance.
The Democrat, who says he “intends” to run for a second term, is betting on a very concrete and social speech to try to rally American voters, so far reluctant to believe the polls.