Biden, who has largely avoided speaking publicly since leaving the White House in January, gave an evening speech at the national conference of Advocates, Counselors and Representatives for the Disabled in Chicago. The former president was speaking as Democrats across the nation offered similar warnings for what they described as a Social Security Day of Action.

“In fewer than 100 days, this new administration has done so much damage and so much destruction. It’s kind of breathtaking,” Biden charged during a speech that spanned just under a half-hour. “They’ve taken a hatchet to the Social Security Administration.”

It was no coincidence that Tuesday’s appearance, which marked Biden’s first major event since leaving office, was focused on Social Security. Democrats have increasingly focused on Trump’s turbulent leadership over the popular government agency that provides benefits to more than 70 million Americans.

Both parties expect Social Security to emerge as a key issue in next year’s midterm elections.

Speaking before a crowd of roughly 200 people, Biden largely stuck to his prepared remarks but also rambled at times as he told stories about growing up with working-class people.

He referred to the Republican president only as “this guy.” Trump, by contrast, continues to blame Biden for many of the nation’s problems and often attacks his predecessor by name.

Conservatives immediately seized upon a Biden reference to the country’s political divisions as an attack on Trump supporters.

“We can’t go on like this as a divided nation, as divided as we are,” Biden said. “As I said, I’ve been doing this a long time. It’s never been this divided. Granted, it’s roughly 30%, but it’s a 30% that has no heart.”

A Biden spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for clarification about whom Biden was referencing.

Earlier in the day, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt took a shot at the former president’s age and fitness when asked about Biden’s appearance.

“I’m shocked that he is speaking at nighttime,” Leavitt said during Tuesday’s White House press briefing. “I thought his bedtime was much earlier than his speech tonight.”

She said that Trump, who is 78 years old, would sign a presidential memorandum Tuesday afternoon “aimed at stopping illegal aliens, and other ineligible people, from obtaining” Social Security benefits. The memorandum will expand the Social Security Administration’s fraud prosecutor program to at least 50 U.S. attorney offices, and establish Medicare and Medicaid fraud prosecution programs in 15 U.S. attorney offices, Leavitt said.

The Social Security Administration pushed back against Biden’s remarks using its official X account.

“Former President Joe Biden is lying to Americans,” the agency wrote.

Trump’s moves on Social Security have stirred controversy

The Republican president almost immediately began slashing the government workforce upon his return to the White House, including thousands of employees at the Social Security Administration.

Along with a planned layoff of 7,000 workers and contentious plans to impose tighter identity-proofing measures for recipients, the SSA has been sued over a decision to allow Trump adviser Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency to access individuals’ Social Security numbers and other personally identifiable information.

Musk, the world’s richest man and one of Trump’s most influential advisers, has called Social Security “the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time.”

At the same time, Social Security recipients have complained about long call wait times as the agency’s “my Social Security” benefits portal has seen an increase in outages. Individuals who receive Supplemental Security Income, including disabled seniors and low-income adults and children, also reported receiving a notice that said they were “not receiving benefits.”

The agency said the notice was a mistake. And the White House has vowed that it would not cut Social Security benefits, saying any changes are intended to reduce waste and fraud.

“They’re shooting first and aiming later,” Biden alleged. “They want to wreck it so they can rob it. Why do they want to rob it? In order to give tax cuts to billionaires and big corporations.”

Among the conference attendees was Michigan-based attorney Jason Turkish, who leads one of the country’s largest disability law firms. He said Trump’s presidency has caused anxiety for many of his 32,000 clients nationwide, who are worried about diminished benefits and uncertainty over agency changes.

“We go from Republican to Democrat, Democrat to Republican and there’s always been a belief that Social Security is just something we do not touch,” he said.

Still, he said there are signs that Social Security Administration officials are open to change. He cited how the agency partly backtracked on plans to require beneficiaries to go to a field office to verify their identity. Turkish is also optimistic about agency modernization efforts.

A return to the stage for Biden

Biden is not expected to make frequent public appearances as he transitions into his post-presidential career. He still maintains an office in Washington, but has returned to Delaware as his regular home base. Trump has revoked his security clearances.

“This is an all hands on deck moment, which is why President Biden’s voice in this moment is so important,” Democratic House leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a call with reporters ahead of Biden’s address.

While Biden may be in a position to help his party with fundraising and messaging moving forward, he left the White House with weak approval ratings.

Biden also faces blame from some progressives who argue he shouldn’t have sought a second term. Biden ended his reelection bid after his disastrous debate performance against Trump and made way for then-Vice President Kamala Harris, who lost to Trump in the fall.

Just 39% of Americans had a favorable opinion of Biden in January, according to a Gallup poll taken shortly after Trump’s inauguration.

Views of the Democratic former president were essentially unchanged from a Gallup poll taken shortly after the November election. They broadly track with the steadily low favorability ratings that Biden experienced throughout the second half of his presidential term.

Indeed, while some Democratic leaders welcomed Biden’s return this week, others were not pleased to see him.

“The best role that Biden could play going forward would be to stay off the public stage,” said progressive activist Norman Solomon. “That might sound harsh, but frankly, his self-centered mentality has already done so much damage to the Democratic Party and the country that he certainly owes us some belated humility.”