Biden accuses Trump of prioritizing Bezos, Musk and Zuckerberg over Americans
Former President Joe Biden criticized President Trump for shutting down the government and refusing to pay SNAP benefits to vulnerable Americans.
Former President Joe Biden spoke to Democratic lawmakers in Nebraska, criticizing current President Donald Trump’s administration for focusing on “billionaires and billionaires” instead of working for “the American people.”
Biden, 82, spoke in Omaha, Nebraska, on Friday night, Nov. 7, at the 2025 Ben Nelson Annual Gala, an event honoring the state’s former governor and senator. Biden used the opportunity to criticize President Trump’s policies, the demolition of the East Wing of the White House and the ongoing government shutdown, now in its sixth week.
The former president also congratulated the Democratic Party on its victory in the election held earlier this week. “Democrats are back. That’s no exaggeration,” Biden said. “In fact, we had a great night in Virginia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, California, New York City, Georgia, Mississippi, even Mississippi. Look, the American people are sending a message. They’re sending a message, a message to Trump and his crowd.”
“Mr. President, we don’t work for you. You work for us, not just billionaires and billionaires,” Biden said in his message.
“We should keep the government open,” Biden said.
Omaha is located in a key Democratic blue district in a traditionally red state. Nebraska, unlike most states, uses a proportional system to allocate its electors. In the 2024 presidential election, Vice President Kamala Harris received 54.4% of the vote, compared to then-President Trump who received 44.2%. Statewide, Trump received 59.6% of the vote.
Biden criticizes Trump administration’s SNAP policy as ‘immoral’
During his nearly 30-minute speech, Biden also cited his administration’s efforts to combat child hunger and the ability to get more Americans onto health insurance through the Affordable Care Act.
“We now have a president who is deliberately making hunger worse for Americans, which now affects one in five children in the United States,” Biden said. “One in five children goes to bed hungry every night. … It’s shameful. It’s immoral. It’s wrong. It’s simply wrong.”
“You can’t make this up,” Biden said of President Trump’s “Great Gatsby” themed Halloween party.
After Mr. Trump was elected, Mr. Biden alluded to the East Wing bombing, saying, “I knew Mr. Trump was going to bring a wrecking ball into this country, but I had no idea, I have to admit, that it would be an actual wrecking ball.” “This is the perfect symbol of his presidency. Trump is bringing the wrecking ball not just into the people’s home, but into the Constitution, the rule of law, and our very democracy.”
Beau Biden: ‘He should have been president, not me’ Biden says
Biden spoke about the importance of cancer research, one of the areas affected by the Trump administration’s budget cuts. “We made cancer research a priority, and now President Trump is cutting federal funding for cancer research.” “Folks, I know what cancer research means. Cancer hits every family, and mine was hit hard, too.”
Biden said his son Beau Biden, who died in 2015, two years after being diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor, “should have been president, not me.” Beau Biden, who was 46 at the time of his death, had served two terms as Delaware’s attorney general and was planning to run for governor.
As reported by multiple media outlets, Biden himself recently began undergoing radiation treatment for “highly aggressive” prostate cancer and had his head bandaged. “Once I finish this round of treatment, I will ring the bell at the end of a year of treatment. Well, thank God for the doctors and nurses and the incredible advances in cancer research,” the former president said. “Now, Mr. Trump and his Republican friends are cutting government health spending, making health care more expensive for virtually everyone.”
The layoffs will result in the closure of 300 rural hospitals across the United States. Two of them are from Nebraska.
Although the country is in a “very dark time,” Biden said “something special happened just last Tuesday” with the election.
Biden called the Democratic victory “a good start” and said, “We cannot give up. … We are the only nation on earth that has emerged from every crisis we’ve faced stronger than when we went into it.” One by one. Please heed my words. We will come out of this crisis stronger. The American experiment will not end on our watch. ”
Mike Snyder is a national trends news reporter for USA TODAY. You can follow him on Threads, Bluesky, and X, and email him at: mike snyder & @mikegsnider.bsky.social & @mikesnider & msnider@usatoday.com
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