WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden took aim at the Republicans on several points in his State of the Union address, but drew the fiercest reaction when he said some in the party want to destroy Medicare and Social Security.
“Instead of making the rich pay their fair share, some Republicans want Medicare and Social Security eliminated,” Biden said, referring to a means by which government programs end up without a vote in Congress.
At that, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., sitting behind Biden in the House chamber, shook his head conspicuously.
“Let me tell you: anyone in doubt, contact my office,” Biden continued. “I’ll give you a copy of the proposal.”
Boos rained down.
McCarthy had warned House Republicans before the speech to show decorum during Biden’s appearance. But fellow Republicans did little to hide their resentment of him. Some Republican lawmakers loudly yelled, “No!”
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Republican of Georgia, sitting in the back of the chamber, yelled, “Liar!”
Biden appears to have referred to a proposal last year from Senator Rick Scott of Florida, then chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Hidden in a policy manifesto Scott released was the line: “All federal legislation expires in five years. If a law is worth upholding, Congress can pass it again.”
Democrats seized on the language as proof that the Republican Party wanted to take down the popular parts of the nation’s social safety net. Even some Republicans joined in criticizing Scott. Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky later told reporters that Scott’s recommendation “will not be part of the agenda of the Republican majority in the Senate.”
In a post-speech interview, Scott said of Biden: “First of all, he’s a liar.”
Scott said he doesn’t support cuts to Social Security or Medicare, but that benefits will be reduced unless the programs are financially bolstered.
“He’s been lying about me for a year,” Scott added.
Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Calif., was more critical of the disruptions from his own party.
“You should never do that kind of thing. When he came out and said something about us trying to cut Social Security, it got a round of boos, and I thought that was pretty fair. But the catcalls didn’t.” I really don’t like it,” LaMalfa said. “I understand the frustration, but it’s really not how, to conduct the business of the institution, how we should do it.”
Biden seemed unfazed by the uproar in the chamber, and Democrats took every opportunity to stand up and applaud him. “You tell them, Joe!” Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., said.
After the speech, Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., suggested in an interview that she was not surprised by the booing.
“We know that you have people who are totally disrespectful to everything and everyone,” he said. “So, he didn’t take the bait.”
Before the speech, White House aides stressed that Biden would present a unifying message. In a briefing with reporters Tuesday morning, administration officials highlighted the issues Biden would mention as deserving of bipartisan support: mental health, veterans’ housing and cancer cures, among them.
However, Biden also peppered the 72-minute speech with direct jabs at Republicans.
He suggested that some were hypocritical for having voted against his infrastructure spending legislation and, once the measure passed, solicited funding for their own districts.
“We will finance your projects. And I’ll see you at the inauguration,” Biden said.
Biden spoke against the backdrop of a 2024 presidential race that is beginning to take shape. Former President Donald Trump, the only major Republican to declare his candidacy thus far, made a running comment about the speech on his social media site.
“Keep using the word ‘Folks’, must be a nervous habit!” Trump wrote.
Former Trump White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who is now governor of Arkansas, delivered the official Republican rebuttal to Biden’s speech.
At no time did Biden reveal his re-election plans. But he didn’t sound like a president preparing to return home after a single term. A recurring sentence he used throughout the speech suggested that he needs and wants a second term to enact all of his policies.
“We will finish the job,” he promised.
