President Biden made an appearance at a Democratic National Committee event on Friday, where he delivered a speech that many perceived as resembling a presidential campaign speech. Despite not yet officially announcing his bid for 2024, the president was greeted with chants of “four more years” as he entered the room with Vice President Harris.
Throughout his speech, Biden heavily criticized the Republicans, accusing them of exacerbating inflation, despite running their entire midterm campaigns on the issue. He also spoke negatively about the Republican’s newest bills, including one seeking to limit the President’s access to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and another aiming to impose a 30 percent sales tax nationwide. Biden asserted that he would veto any of these bills.
The president went on to say that he would also veto any attempt by the Republicans to cut Social Security, Medicare, or impose a nationwide ban on abortions. He stated that the modern-day Republican party does not resemble the Republican party of a few decades ago and that they are simply trying to “destroy the progress we made.”
Despite his criticisms, President Biden expressed his desire to negotiate with Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) following their meeting. He added that the White House maintains that the debt ceiling should be raised without any conditions, while Republicans have maintained that an increase in the debt ceiling should be paired with government spending cuts.