Biden breaks silence over Trump admin 'destruction'

Joe Biden, in his first major speech since leaving the White House, railed on Tuesday against his successor Donald Trump's frenetic government overhaul, claiming the "hatchet" effort put Americans' retirement benefits at risk.

- Agencies

WASHINGTON:

"Fewer than 100 days, this administration has done so much damage, and so much destruction — it's kind of breathtaking it could happen that soon," Biden told a conference of disability advocates in Chicago.

"They've taken a hatchet to the Social Security administration, pushing 7,000 employees out the door," said the former president, referring to the national agency which pays out retirement and disability benefits.

Wearing a blue suit and tie, and standing in front of American flags, the 82-year-old Democrat spoke for around a half-hour, displaying at times the signs of ageing that prompted him to abandon his re-election campaign last year.

He stumbled over some sentences as he read from a teleprompter and struggled to get through winding off-the-cuff anecdotes, cutting himself off with a favourite phrase, "anyways".

President Trump, in a jab at Biden, posted a short video on social media of one of the rambling anecdotes, without comment.