President Joe Biden had some words for the press during a public event at the White House on Sunday night.
According to Fox News’ Lucas Tomlinson, after signing off on the Social Security Fairness Act, Biden took a few questions from the audience. That’s when he decided to take a swipe at President-elect Donald Trump. “Do you still believe he’s a threat to democracy?” a reporter asked. “I think what he did was a genuine threat to democracy,” Biden responded.
After addressing the claim that Trump aims to put an end to birthright citizenship, Biden pivoted and delivered a message to the reporters. “I might be the oldest president, but I know more world leaders than any one of you have ever met in your whole goddamn life!” Biden said.
This isn’t the first instance of him taking a swipe at the press. Back in November, a journalist inquired whether President Biden could broker a hostage release agreement between Israel and Hamas before the end of his term.
“Do you think you can keep from getting hit in the head by a camera behind you?” Biden asked the reporter.
Biden made these remarks while enacting the Social Security Fairness Act, aimed at enhancing the Social Security benefits for nearly three million public sector employees.
This new legislation, which garnered support from both sides of the aisle, eliminates two regulations that had restricted the benefits for certain Social Security recipients who also receive pension income.
With this bipartisan measure, individuals such as teachers, firefighters, police officers, and other public employees who also earn pension income will experience an increase in their Social Security benefits.
The law removes the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO).
The WEP restricts Social Security benefits for those who receive pensions or disability payments from jobs where Social Security taxes were not deducted. As of December 2023, CNBC reported that approximately two million beneficiaries were impacted by this provision.
Similarly, the GPO diminishes benefits for spouses, widows, and widowers who receive income from their own government pensions, affecting nearly 750,000 beneficiaries as of December 2023.
“By signing this bill, we’re extending Social Security benefits for millions of teachers, nurses, and other public employees and their spouses and survivors,” Biden said. “That means an estimated average of $360 per month increase.”
