In a mix of sermon and political rally, the President of the United States, Joe Biden, made the second stop of the 2024 election campaign for his re-election this Monday. Biden traveled to Charleston, South Carolina, to Mother Emanuel Church, where in 2015, when he was vice president, a 21-year-old white supremacist murdered nine black parishioners to spark a race war. South Carolina, the president recalled, was the state where he began to prevail in the 2020 Democratic primary thanks to the black votes he is now relying on, while condemning racism and political violence.
In “Mother Emanuel,” Biden said from the pulpit: “The Word of God has been pierced by bullets of hatred and anger, fueled not just by gunpowder but by a poison, a poison that has plagued this nation for too long.” and clarified that he was referring to “white supremacy.” “Throughout our history, it has torn this nation apart. That has no place in America. Not today, not tomorrow, never,” said the president, highlighting that those who stormed the Capitol three years ago carried Confederate flags and drawing a parallel between the losers of the Civil War and the loser of the 2020 election, Donald Trump .
“After the Civil War, the defeated Confederates could not accept the outcome of the war: they had lost. So, they say, they embraced the so-called “Lost Cause,” a self-serving lie that the Civil War was not about slavery but about states’ rights. And they called it the noble cause. “That was a lie (…) that had terrible consequences,” said Biden.
“So for those who don’t seem to know, let me be clear: Slavery was the cause of the Civil War. There's no negotiation about that,” he insisted, weeks after Republican Rep. Nikki Haley omitted slavery as a cause of war when asked about it, for which she ultimately apologized. Haley served as governor of South Carolina in 2015 at the time of the Mother Emanuel massacre and won national recognition for her response, which included signing legislation to remove the Confederate flag from the state Capitol.
“We now live in an era of the second lost cause. Once again, there are some in this country who are trying to turn a loss into a lie, a lie that, if allowed to live, will once again do terrible damage to this country. This time the lie is about the 2020 election, the election in which you made your voice heard and made your power known,” Biden continued, continuing to weave both storylines.
“On January 6th we saw something we had never seen before, not even during the Civil War. Insurgents wave Confederate flags in the halls of Congress built by enslaved Americans. “A mob attacked and called these vile racist names the black officers, the black veterans who defended the nation,” he denounced.
Join EL PAÍS to follow all the news and read without restrictions.
Subscribe to
Biden has chosen to present himself as a bulwark of democracy in the face of the threat he believes Trump, his likely rival in the presidential election, poses to them. On this occasion, however, he emphasized issues of equality and civil rights to try to attract the black electorate that was so important to Biden four years ago. “It is thanks to this community and the black community of South Carolina, and I am not exaggerating (…), that I am here today as your president,” he admitted.
The president has therefore pointed to some of the achievements of his presidency that he believes have particularly benefited the African American population, such as investments in infrastructure, aid for the expansion of high-speed internet, job creation, cuts and moratoriums on student debt or cheaper Prices of medicines.
Attacks on Trump
The president has begun 2024 with direct attacks on Donald Trump, which he had avoided for most of his presidency. Now he appears to have put on his campaign suit to make up ground in the polls. Mobilizing voters opposed to the former president is one of his greatest strengths.
Biden repeated part of his speech from last Friday in Blue Bell (Pennsylvania), but also included new attacks. The exchanges of blows in the distance illustrate the mark they face each other. “Just a few days ago, the defeated former president was asked about the recent shooting in Iowa. Did you hear that? It's hard to believe. Do you know what his reaction was, all those dead children? “We have to get over it,” end of quote. “I promise you,” Biden said, crossing himself. “My answer is: We have to stop it.”
Shortly after beginning his speech, the president was interrupted by a group of pro-Palestinian demonstrators. Some also protested outside the venue where last Friday's rally was held, which appeared to be an uncomfortable presence for him throughout the campaign. One participant stood up and said, “If you really care about the lives lost here, then you should honor the lives lost and call for a ceasefire in Palestine!” Several others called for a ceasefire in Gaza. Meanwhile, most of those present chanted: “Four more years! Four more years!”, alluding to his re-election for a second term.
Biden stated: “I understand your passion. And I have been quietly working with the Israeli government to get them to make a significant reduction and withdrawal from Gaza. I did everything I could to achieve this.” After the demonstrators were cleared, one of the citizens agreed with him: “They are not aware of it. You are a good man”.
Follow all international information on Facebook and Xor in our weekly newsletter.