South Carolina lawmakers react to President Biden’s decision to not seek second term

GREENVILLE, S.C. (WSPA) – South Carolinas lawmakers are reacting on Sunday, after President Joe Biden’s bombshell announcement that he will not seek re-election for a second term.

“I was shocked because I thought he was pretty much resigned to staying in the race, and so this was a shock to me,” said South Carolina State Representative, Rosalyn D. Henderson-Myers (D). “I do know that there had been some growing efforts to have him to step down and allow someone else to run.”

U.S. Representative William Timmons (R) of South Carolina said he wanted Biden to do more than just finish his term. He wanted Biden to resign.

“The fact that he has acknowledged, in his inner circle, that he cannot run again, and he is unable to be president for four more years… he shouldn’t be president for another hour,” said Timmons. “I mean, the world is a dangerous place. We need a strong leader, and he is not. He’s asleep at the wheel.”

Since last month’s first Presidential Debate of the 2024 election cycle, which many critics deemed ‘disastrous’ for the 81-year-old president’s re-election chances, dissonance and disagreement among the Democratic Party’s had been brewing with reports that former President, Barack Obama, and former Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, had privately called for Biden to not run again.

“Look, this guy has not been all there,” said Timmons. “For years, his cognitive decline has been very clear. He can’t walk upstairs. He can’t remember who people are. He’s had people that have been lifelong friends that he can’t recognize, and this has all been so apparent, but the people that are surrounding him are just trying to keep power. It’s sad. It really is sad. I mean, it’s elder abuse.”

Now that Biden is now longer in contention for the White House, there are questions surrounding who will become the party’s next nominee to take on Trump.

For Henderson-Myers, Vice President Kamala Harris seems to be the obvious choice.

“I hadn’t thought about anyone else running,” she said. “I know how passionate she is about this country and about the people in this country, and I could not think of anyone else who could fill those shoes at this point.”

Harris also got the approval and support from Biden, Sunday afternoon, with the president writing:

“My fellow Democrats, I have decided not to accept the nomination and to focus all my energies on my duties as President for the remainder of my term. My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President. And it’s been the best decision I’ve made. Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year. Democrats — it’s time to come together and beat Trump. Let’s do this.”

South Carolina Senator Jim Clyburn (D) also endorsed Harris publicly on Sunday by penning this statement:

“I echo the good judgment [President Biden] demonstrated in selecting Vice President Harris to lead this nation alongside him, and I am proud to follow his lead in support of her candidacy to succeed him as the Democratic Party’s 2024 nominee for President.”

Hours after Biden’s announcement, the South Carolina delegation to the 2024 Democratic National Convention met virtually and voted to endorse Vice President Harris for the 2024 Democratic Presidential Nomination.

In a public statement, SCDP Chair Christale Spain, who also chairs the South Carolina delegation to the convention, shared the following: 

“We appreciate President Biden’s decades of service to the nation. South Carolina’s Democratic Delegates join President Biden in endorsing Vice President Harris as our nominee. We must move forward in unity for the sake of democracy; by selecting President Biden in February, South Carolina Democrats also selected the Vice President for her ability to lead. Vice President Harris has been fully vetted, and she has earned our unwavering support. It will be an honor to vote for her as our party’s nominee next month.”

South Carolina was the first in the Nation Democratic Presidential Primary on February 3, 2024, where 96% of voters selected President Biden.

The Democratic National Convention will occur from August 19-22 in Chicago, Illinois.

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