Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie on Saturday chastised his fellow Republicans for siding with President Joe Biden in opposition to changes for Social Security and Medicare.
Christie, who served as the governor of the Garden State from 2010 to 2018, is currently among the packed field of hopefuls seeking the 2024 GOP presidential nomination. He is also among the many candidates who have struggled to muster significant polling support, with former President Donald Trump's reelection campaign regularly dominating the field with nearly 50 percent support.
In differentiating himself from the pack of candidates, Christie has been outspoken in his criticisms, mostly of the former president, but also of the current state of the Republican Party. During a conservative political conference in Atlanta on Saturday, as reported by The Hill, Christie expressed disgust over his party siding with Biden against social safety net changes that the president talked about during his most recent State of the Union address, suggesting that risks need to be taken with the programs now.
"The most disgusting part of Joe Biden's State of the Union address this year was when he stood up, and he said, 'We'll all agree, right? We're not going to do anything to Social Security?' And both sides got up and cheered," Christie said. "[They're] a group of liars and cowards, because they know they know that in 10 years, Medicare will be bankrupt. And in 11 years, Social Security will be bankrupt."
During his speech in February, Biden accused members of the GOP of wanting to cut Social Security and Medicare. He was met with an angry reaction from some Republicans in the chamber including Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia who shouted "You lie, you lie!" and "Liar!"
Some other Republicans shouted "no," but Biden responded to their criticism, saying that he was not "saying it's a majority" of Republicans who support the idea. "Anybody who doubts it, contact my office," the president said. "I'll give you a copy. I'll give you a copy of the proposal."
The president was referring to a proposal last year from Republican Senator Rick Scott that would have required Congress to reauthorize the programs every five years and would have made Medicare and Social Security vulnerable to cuts. The idea was rejected by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
During his State of the Union speech, Biden suggested that Republicans in the chamber were agreeing not to cut Social Security and Medicare.
"So folks, as we all apparently agree, Social Security and Medicare is off the books now, right?" Biden said. "We got unanimity!" he shouted over cheers in the chamber.
Newsweek reached out to the White House via email for comment.
In his remarks, Christie cited recent federal estimates which found that the two programs will reach insolvency in roughly a decade's time. Republicans, like Christie, have proposed various reforms and cuts to the programs, which would lessen the amount of money paid out to each individual. Such cuts have consistently been unpopular, with an Associated Press-NORC Center poll from April finding that 79 percent of respondents opposed reductions to Social Security benefits, and 67 percent opposed raising premiums for Medicare.
Democrats, meanwhile, have proposed raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans in order to shore up the programs, an idea that Republicans have strongly opposed. The proposal does, however, have public support, with the same poll finding that 58 percent of respondents were in favor of raising taxes on households making over $400,000 a year.
For his part, Christie on Saturday suggested raising the eligibility age for the program in order to save funds. The current eligibility age is 65, with the former governor suggesting that the change only be enacted for people currently younger than 50, to give them time to prepare.
"We can make real savings over the long term by playing with eligibility age," Christie added. "We have got to have this conversation. And other than me, nobody in this race is willing to talk about it. It's ridiculous."
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Thomas Kika is a Newsweek weekend reporter based in upstate New York. His focus is reporting on crime and national ... Read more
