Joe Biden made a rare public appearance Friday in Columbia, South Carolina, to thank Democrats credited with rescuing his 2020 presidential bid. He was greeted like a hero as supporters cheered when longtime ally Rep. Jim Clyburn welcomed him onstage at an art museum. “Thank you,” Biden told the crowd. “It’s good to be back home.”
Speaking at a state Democratic Party event held on a rainy evening, Biden criticized former President Donald Trump, accusing him of “trying to steal the election, because he knows he can’t win your vote,” and added, “Mark my words. I hope I’m wrong.” The gathering marked the sixth anniversary of Biden’s pivotal South Carolina primary victory that shifted his stalled 2020 campaign to the front of the field.
Since leaving office, Biden has largely stayed out of the spotlight. He has faced a difficult post-presidency period — Trump has reversed many of his policies, and the 83-year-old former president disclosed in May a prostate cancer diagnosis that spread to his bone; officials later said he had received radiation and hormone therapy.
Biden emphasized his long ties to South Carolina, calling it a second home. He and his family have vacationed on Kiawah Island near Charleston, and he spent time there after his son Beau’s death. “Folks, when it mattered, you were there for me,” Biden told the crowd. “You believed in me … and I believed in you, too.”
His relationships in the state go back decades; as a U.S. senator he built ties with long-serving senators from both parties and delivered eulogies for Strom Thurmond and Fritz Hollings. In January 2025, Biden spent his final full day in office in Charleston, urging Americans to “keep the faith in a better day to come” as Trump prepared to return to the White House.
Clyburn’s endorsement ahead of the 2020 primary is widely credited with signaling support to Black voters critical to the state’s Democratic electorate. Introducing Biden, Clyburn said he had no regrets about backing him and praised Biden’s record of public service. “There is no American ever who has demonstrated through his service more substance and, I might add, sustenance, than Joe Robinette Biden Jr.,” Clyburn said.
During his presidency, Biden raised South Carolina’s profile within the Democratic Party, pushing to make it an early primary state and appointing Orangeburg native Jaime Harrison as DNC chair. Now the state faces uncertainty as the national party weighs changes to the primary calendar that could reduce its influence. South Carolina Democratic Party chair Christale Spain defended the state’s role, saying its 2020 backing helped defeat Trump: “South Carolina did what South Carolina does best,” she said.
Biden closed with lighter moments, joking about Trump’s lengthy State of the Union address to laughter from the audience.
