President Joe Biden told attendees at the South Carolina Democratic Party’s “First In the Nation Dinner” Saturday that they are personally responsible for vaulting him into the White House in 2020 and ousting former President Donald Trump.
Biden’s comments, delivered just one week before Democrats cast votes in the party’s first sanctioned primary contest of the 2024 election cycle, capped off a whirlwind week of campaigning from a number of the president’s top surrogates, including Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA), Democratic National Committee chairman Jaime Harrison, and Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC), a co-chairman of Biden’s reelection effort.
The president opened his speech by thanking the voters of South Carolina, without whom he “wouldn’t be here,” before immediately calling Trump a loser.
“If you ever doubt that power to change America is in your hands, remember this: You proved it,” he said. “You’re the reason I am president. You’re the reason Kamala Harris is a historic vice president, and you’re the reason Donald Trump is a defeated former president. You’re the reason Donald Trump is a loser.”
Biden was interrupted shortly thereafter by a string of protesters calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, a growing trend at the president’s political rallies. Still, the activists were quickly drowned out by chants of “four more years” from others in the room. A third protester also interrupted the president as he concluded his remarks.
The president’s speech continued to hammer the likely Republican presidential nominee, claiming that voters are “tired of being played for suckers” by Trump on the economy.
“The bottom line is our economy has grown more in the last six months than it ever did at any point in Trump’s entire four years in office,” Biden claimed, referencing the recent gross domestic product report that showed 2.5% growth in 2023.
Throughout his remarks, Biden continued what might become a mainstay of his reelection bid: touting his record in office and leading supporters in a chant of “a promise made, and a promise kept!”
Saturday’s speech also featured some of the sharpest attacks on Trump’s mental fitness Biden has issued to date. Biden, 81, recounted a recent blunder Trump, 77, made on the campaign trail.
“By the way, have you noticed he’s a little confused these days?” Biden told the crowd. “He apparently can’t tell apart Nikki Haley and Nancy Pelosi.”
In addition to criticizing Trump’s past comments about World War II veterans, Biden attacked him for recently saying he hoped the economy would crash before the election and countered with a fresh nickname that “Donald ‘Herbert Hoover’ Trump” is just one of two presidents to exit office with fewer jobs than when he entered.
“Folks, there are truths, and there are lies. Lies told for power. Lies told for profit. We must call out these lies with a voice that is clear and unyielding,” Biden closed, referencing Trump’s false claims about the 2020 election. “We must stand with the truth and defeat the lies, and when we do, we’ll be able to look back and say something few have been able to say. When America’s democracy was at risk, we saved it. Are you with me? Let’s finish what we started.”
Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN), Biden’s long-shot challenger for the Democratic nomination, also spoke at Saturday’s dinner.
Phillips opened his remarks by joking about how 95% of Democratic South Carolinians will be voting for Biden, “including most of you in this room,” before urging the president to “pass the torch to a new generation ready to take the stage.”
“Many in this country, in this state, in this very room have been told to stand in line and wait your turn,” Phillips said. “Not in America when we have a man like Donald Trump coming back to the White House. I love you all, and no matter what, whether it’s President Biden, whether it’s me, or whether it’s somebody else this November, we have got to do everything we can to energize, to mobilize, and get people out to vote.”
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The president’s campaign has looked toward the Palmetto State as a chance for Biden to re-energize a Democratic base, and black voters in particular, that appears to be souring on both Biden’s age and economic stewardship, even as Republican voters coalesce around Trump.
“President Biden and Vice President Harris have delivered historic funding for HBCUs to the tune of $7 billion, brought black unemployment to a record low, increased black wealth by 60% since before the pandemic, and so much more,” Biden principal deputy campaign manager Quentin Fulks said in a statement. “Our message is clear: we won’t take any voter for granted and will be showing up, investing, and earning every single vote to win this November.”
