'You are the reason Donald Trump is a loser,' Biden tells South Carolina voters ahead of primary

COLUMBIA, S.C.− In his second trip to South Carolina this month, just one week before the Democratic presidential primary, President Joe Biden sought to build momentum among Black voters in a state that saved his campaign in 2020.

"You're the reason I'm president. You are the reason Kamala Harris is a storied vice president, and you are the reason Donald Trump is a defeated former president," he said Saturday night at the state Democratic party's fundraiser at the South Carolina State Fairgrounds in Columbia. "You are the reason Donald Trump is a loser, and you're the reason we're going to win and beat him again."

The audience stood on its feet, waving red, white and blue Biden/Harris signs and chanting, “Four more years! Four more years!”

"Today Black small businesses are starting up at the fastest rate in 30 years," he said, adding that Black unemployment was at the lowest level ever recorded in American history.

The Palmetto state’s new status as the Democratic party's first official primary on Feb. 3, upending 50 years of history, ensures that voters of color have a major voice in choosing the nominee much earlier in the process.

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“You cannot be the Democratic nominee and win a general election unless you have overwhelming support from voters of color – and that includes Black, Brown and Asian American & Pacific Islander voters,” Biden wrote in a letter to the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee in 2022.

A slew of recent polls have shown Biden's support from voters of color has fallen since 2020. A recent poll from the Roper Center showed a major drop in support among Black voters, from 87% in 2020 to 63% currently.

Paying attention to racial diversity has never been as important to the Democratic party. Four-in-10 Democratic registered voters are now nonwhite (black, Hispanic, Asian and other nonwhite racial groups), compared with 17% of the GOP, according to a 2020 Pew report.

Hours ahead of the event people started gathering at the fairgrounds for the event.  Inside, an American flag hung high on a wall. White mugs were stacked on the table touting the state’s new status.

“South Carolina Democrats Pick Winners,’’ it read. “First in the Nation. Democratic Presidential Primary.”

In the days leading up to Saturday’s event, some high-profile Black Democratic lawmakers, including House Democratic leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-New York; and Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C. stumped for the Biden/Harris campaign. Clyburn is credited with helping Biden win South Carolina in 2020 and reigniting his then-struggling campaign.

“I feel good about the campaign,’’ Clyburn told USA Today Friday, adding that the campaign will continue to tout accomplishments that resonate with voters such as efforts to reduce student debt.

Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., who is running against Biden, lost to a write-in campaign for Biden in the New Hampshire Democratic primary on Tuesday, also spoke at the event.

"I'm here today because I will not stand down, I will not sit down, I will not be quiet, and I will not stay in line when Donald Trump is easing his way back into that White House. I'm here because I want to win in November," he said. "So my invitation to President Biden is to pass the torch to a new generation ready to take the stage, ready to take that man on and ready to win."

Elaine Reed of Darlington, South Carolina, said she was glad to see Biden show up at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston earlier this month and return again Saturday.

“I said, ‘Hallelujah,’’ Reed said of Biden’s visit to the historic church where nine Black churchgoers were killed by a white man in 2015. “I’m saying the same thing this time. He is trying to make it happen.’’

Reed and other South Carolinians said it’s important that there’s good turnout of Black voters Feb. 3 to show support for Biden’s campaign as it moves forward.

“This election is so important. It does threaten democracy,’’ she said. “We don’t hear enough about how bad Trump is.”

Reed, 77, said while the campaign should focus on encouraging young people to vote, it shouldn’t neglect older Black voters.

“You’ve got to turn up at Bingo games. You’ve got to turn up at senior centers. You’ve got to show up at churches,’’ said Reed, adding that it’s often seniors urging others to go to the polls. “We are the ones they look to.”

Meanwhile, some local activists were busy knocking on doors and making calls urging voters to cast ballots in the Feb. 3 primary.

“We’ve got to do everything we can,’’ said Dorothy Jenkins, president of the Charleston chapter of the NAACP. “This is a critical time.’’

Jenkins said it hasn’t gone unnoticed that Biden has visited the state twice in recent weeks and that Harris was there as recently as MLK Day.

“They’re doing their best no question about it,’’ she said.

Not everyone at the event supported a Biden bid. Andrew Yang, a 2020 presidential candidate who is now supporting Phillips, told reporters. “If the goal is for the insiders to avoid ruffling any of their own feathers, then obviously they should  just continue with their coronation of Joe Biden,’’ he said. “But if the goal is to actually defeat Donald Trump in the fall, the Democratic Party owes the country a nominee who can win.”

Democrats elevated South Carolina to the first in the nation expecting the resources and energy of a competitive race, he said.

“Instead it just became the Joe Biden cakewalk,’’ said Yang, who attended the South Carolina event with Phillips. “That’s not good for the party. That’s not good for the country.”

Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy is a White House Correspondent focusing on the economy for USA TODAY. You can follow her on X @SwapnaVenugopal

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Biden tries to build momentum in ahead of South Carolina primary