Joe Biden returns to bask in ‘thank you’ event from South Carolina Democrats

COLUMBIA, South Carolina — COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Joe Biden made a rare public appearance Friday in South Carolina, basking in the appreciation of Democrats who resurrected his presidential campaign six years ago. Although Biden is scorned in many corners for his failed attempt at a second term that preceded Donald Trump’s return to the White House, audiences here have welcomed him as a political hero.

“Thank you,” Biden said to cheers as Rep. Jim Clyburn, his longtime political ally, welcomed him to a stage set up at an art museum in downtown Columbia. “It’s good to be back home.”

Biden criticized Trump in his remarks, suggesting he could tamper with the fall midterm campaigns. Biden accused Trump of “trying to steal the election, because he knows he can’t win your vote.”

“Mark my words,” Biden added. “I hope I’m wrong.”

The rally organized by the state Democratic Party on a rainy night was intended to commemorate the sixth anniversary of Biden’s crucial victory in the state primary. Biden’s bid for the presidential nomination faltered until his victory propelled him to first place.

Since leaving office, Biden has largely receded from the public eye. His appearance in South Carolina was also a balm after a difficult time for Biden. Trump reversed many of Biden’s policies, and the 83-year-old former president announced in May that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer, which had spread to his bones. In October, a spokesperson said the former president had received radiation and hormone therapy.

Biden called South Carolina his second home state after his native Delaware. He has a long history of vacationing with his family on Kiawah Island, near Charleston. He also spent time there after the death of his son Beau from cancer.

“Folks, when it mattered, you were there for me,” Biden said Friday. “You believed in me…and I believed in you too.”

As a U.S. senator, he developed close relationships with the state’s two longtime senators, Republican Strom Thurmond and Democrat Fritz Hollings, delivering eulogies for both men at South Carolina church services.

In January 2025, Biden spent his last full day in office in Charleston, where he urged Americans to “keep the faith in a better day to come” as Trump prepared to return to the White House.

But perhaps the most powerful relationship was that between Biden and Clyburn, whose endorsement just before the 2020 South Carolina primary seemed to serve as a long-awaited signal to Black voters who are fundamental to the state’s Democratic Party.

“My buddy Jim Clyburn, you brought me back!” he said.

Clyburn introduced Biden on Friday and suggested he had no hesitation about supporting him.

“No American has ever demonstrated, through his service, more substance and, might I add, sustenance, than Joe Robinette Biden Jr.,” he said.

Biden has tapped South Carolina for notable roles during his presidency. He urged Democrats to make South Carolina the first primary state, upending the party’s nominating process, and he named Orangeburg native Jaime Harrison as head of the Democratic National Committee.

South Carolina Democrats now find themselves at a political crossroads. The national party is reconsidering its primary calendar, which could weaken the state’s influence.

Christale Spain, chair of the South Carolina Democratic Party, defended the state’s role. By strengthening Biden in 2020, she said, it helped defeat Trump.

“South Carolina did what South Carolina does best,” Spain said. “We made the difference.”

Biden made the party faithful laugh as he went after Trump.

“Did you see Trump give the State of the Union the other night? he asked, referring to Tuesday night’s speech that became the longest ever. “He’s still talking?”

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Meg Kinnard can be contacted at http://x.com/MegKinnardAP