President Joe Biden brought his presidential bully pulpit to the pulpit of St. John Baptist Church on Sunday, quoting scripture and heralding the promise of the Black American church as he tries to convince a core constituency that he is worthy of their support this November.
Black churches, Biden said, “give us a mountaintop. You give us a promised land. You give us a dream and a faith that we shall overcome, we can overcome. And you push us toward a more perfect union, you really do. To bend the arc of a moral universe toward justice together. And what a gift to the nation and the world you’ve been.”
Biden’s weekend in the Palmetto State, surrounded by some of his longest-standing and most loyal supporters, comes as the president has been frustrated by stubbornly low polling, interrupted on the campaign trail by members of his own party unhappy with his handling of the Israel-Gaza conflict, and dogged by his predecessor’s grip over congressional negotiations.
South Carolina won’t be a competitive state for Democrats in November, but next Saturday’s primary, the first official Democratic contest, will mark a key test of Biden’s potency with the Black voters who turned the tide of his 2020 primary bid and helped propel him to victory nationwide that November.
But there are signs that support is slipping: Black pastors have been increasingly calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, according to new reporting in The New York Times, echoing some of the messages Biden is hearing from protesters at campaign events. Biden advisers have met with concerned Black pastors about a ceasefire in recent weeks, a source familiar said. And polling of key battleground states has indicated weakening support for the president among Black voters, particularly Black men.
Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’ multiple trips to South Carolina in recent weeks underscore…
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