President Joe Biden went off on “Extreme MAGA Republicans” over their economic plans, calling them “nuts” for some of their proposals in a speech to a rowdy crowd in Philadelphia.

When Vice President Kamala Harris introduced the president at the 2023 DNC Winter Meeting on Friday, the crowd chanted his name and cheered so raucously, the VP had to pause before completing her introduction. The president, buoyed by a January jobs report that stunned the financial press, took the stage to cheers and chants of “Four more years!”

After spending the first part of the speech bragging about the economy and his policy actions, the president took aim at Republicans, using the Trump-adjacent epithet he adopted last year to warn the assembled Democrats what h views as the stakes going forward:

But now, the extreme MAGA Republicans in the House of Representatives have made it clear they intend to put it all at risk. They intend to destroy it.

AUDIENCE: Booo —

THE PRESIDENT: No, I’m — not a joke. When I — look, you may remember when, during the off-year election, I started talking about MAGA Republicans and democracy. And a lot of you thought, “What the hell is he talking about? Why isn’t he talking about A, B, C, or D specific issue?”

Well, guess what? They intend to destroy the pri- — this is not your father’s Republican Party. No, really, think about it. These aren’t conservatives. These aren’t conservatives. These are disruptive people. They intend to destroy the progress we made.

Folks, as I said, this is not your father’s Republican Party. Just take a look what’s — they’re doing. They campaigned on fiscal responsibility, but the first bill to pass the House of Representatives added $114 billion to the deficit. The first one.

They introduced another bill to limit the President’s authority over the Strategic Petroleum Reserve because they’re mad I used that authority to lower gas prices by $1.50 a gallon. Period. (Applause.)

Look, they introduced a bill — you think I’m cra- — when I said this stuff in the off year, people looked at me like I was nuts. They’re nuts. I’m not the one — (laughter).

They introduced a bill that will eliminate the IRS and replace it with a 30 percent national sales tax.

AUDIENCE: Booo —

THE PRESIDENT: Oh, no. You heard me: 30 percent national sales tax. Think about that. That means 30 percent on groceries, gasoline, clothing, school supplies, medicine, big-ticket items like rent and cars. Shifting the entire burden to the working class and middle class of America. It’s not going to happen. I’m going to veto the sucker if it ever got to me. (Applause.)

I know the Republicans ran on inflation last election. I didn’t know they were trying to make it worse. (Laughter.)

And, of course, as they always do, they still want to cut taxes on the wealthiest and biggest corporations.

AUDIENCE: Booo —

AUDIENCE MEMBER: (Inaudible.) (Laughter.)

THE PRESIDENT: By the way, you know, the idea — you got to be kidding me. No billionaire should pay a lower tax rate than a schoolteacher or firefighter because that what they — (applause) —

By the way, there’s a thousand billionaires, and they pay an average of 3 percent in taxes. Three percent. For God’s name, what is this all about?

Republicans keep talking about what they’re going to do to Social Security and Medicare. Americans have been pa- — paying into Medicare since you got your first paycheck when you were 16 years old and Social Security since you started working.

Well, I got a better idea. I’m going to strengthen Social Security and Medicare, not gut it. (Applause.)

If people making over $400,000 a year paid at the same rate that everybody making $60-, $70-, $80-, $90-, $139,000 a year — up to — guess what? Social Security and Medicare would grow strong without — without cutting benefits, without raising taxes on a single person making under 400 grand.

Look, so let’s make it real simple: If Republicans try to cut Social Security — it’s not going to get by the Senate, in my view — but I’ll stop them.

If they tried to cut Medicare, I’ll stop them. I got a veto pen. (Applause.)

If they try to pass the 30 percent national sales tax, I’ll stop them. And if — if they send me a national ban on the right to choose, I will stop them. (Applause.)

Watch above via C-SPAN.

The post ‘They’re Nuts!’ Biden TORCHES ‘Extreme MAGA Republicans’ In Rowdy Speech To Democrats in Philly first appeared on Mediaite.

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