GOFFSTOWN, United States: President Joe Biden clashed on Monday with rival Republican Trump over health care and social benefits as the Democrat visited another battleground state in November’s election.
In an interview on Monday, former president Trump said he would back cuts to social spending. Republican Trump, 77, is seeking a historic comeback to the White House in November election.
“There is a lot you can do in terms of entitlements in terms of cutting,” Trump told CNBC.
The property tycoon was asked about the possibility of cuts to the three pillars of US social welfare: Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security.
Medicare provides health care for seniors; Medicaid gives health care for the less-well off; and Social Security gives welfare for seniors and the disabled.
Democrat Biden, 81, hit right back accusing Trump of backing measures that would favour wealthy Americans as he spoke at an event in the northeastern state of New Hampshire.
“The bottom line is, he’s still at it,” Biden said.
“I’m never gonna allow that to happen. I won’t cut Social Security, I won’t cut Medicare.”
Biden’s comments came after he unveiled an ambitious 2025 budget that includes populist measures such as higher taxes on billionaires and stronger social spending programmes.
The budget bill is almost certain to be dead on arrival in the deeply divided US Congress, but was aimed to highlight Biden’s policy differences ahead of his likely rematch with Trump.
In New Hampshire, Biden accused Trump of wanting to cut taxes for the rich and said his economic and social policies had sparked an “America comeback.”
“I believe we’re moving into a future where health care is a right, not a privilege in America,” said Biden further.
Less than eight months after the Nov. 5 election, Biden and Trump scored landslide victories for both parties in last week’s “Super Tuesday” primaries, and the two parties are now in full-on battle mode.
Democrats are now touring battleground states, capitalizing on Thursday’s wildly popular speech that focused on Trump.
Referring to the former president’s failure to admit defeat in the 2020 election and the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol by pro-Trump supporters, Biden accused President Trump of being a threat to democracy.
Trump, who has been impeached twice during his presidency, now faces four criminal charges, including two counts of trying to overturn the results of the election four years ago.
