Written by Trevor Hunnicutt
NORTH CHARLESTON, South Carolina (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden urged his desperate fellow Democrats not to give up hope as he returned to the warm embrace of South Carolina's church-going black community to mark the last full day of his presidency on Sunday.
Biden leaves office on Monday, ending a four-year term, leaving his Democratic Party in the political wilderness when he returns the position to his Republican rival, Donald Trump, whom Democrats see as a threat to democracy.
At Royal Missionary Baptist Church in North Charleston, Biden was remembered fondly by political allies and received a standing ovation from church attendees.
Biden told churchgoers from the pulpit: “We often meditate on resurrection and redemption, but remember that Jesus was buried on Friday and rose on Sunday.” “We don't talk enough about the Sabbath, when his disciples felt all hope was lost.”
His remarks came amid major developments in the final hours of the Biden presidency, including a long-awaited ceasefire and hostage agreement in Gaza, an issue that has loomed over the last 15 months of the Biden presidency.
“I'll tell you, great friend, very little appreciation has been shown lately, but don't faint, history will be very kind to you,” said Rep. Jim Clyburn, who spoke before Biden, recalling the scathing early assessments of Abraham. Lincoln, Harry Truman, and Lyndon Johnson.
Biden hinted at bitter political disappointment after he withdrew last summer from the race to win a second term in office due to concerns about his age and his performance during the election campaign, but he indicated that he intends to remain in the eyes of the public after the end of his term.
“I'm not tired by any means,” Biden said, echoing the words of the evangelical standard to applause. “I'm not going anywhere.”
South Carolina Democrats saved Biden's political career in February 2020, giving him his first victory in a presidential primary and the momentum he would maintain through his victory over Trump later that year.
Biden credited Clyburn's late endorsement in that race with delivering voters' votes in the state, and said he couldn't think of a better place to spend his last full day in office.
There, at the majority-Black church, Biden celebrated the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday a day earlier, alongside his wife Jill, son Hunter, other family members and close aides.
He made an offering before entering, according to the pastor, and later visited the International African American Museum in Charleston.
Parishioners swayed and hit the electric bass during the service.
“Every time I spend time in a black church, I think of one thing: the word 'hope,'” Biden said.
