President Joe Biden was interrupted by protesters calling for a ceasefire in Gaza during his pilgrimage to a church in Charleston, S.C., to appeal to Black voters as part of his campaign against Donald Trump.
Now calling a ceasefire, the group interrupted the president as he spoke Monday about his ties to Mother Emanuel AME Church, the historically black church in Charleston where nine people were killed after a gunman opened fire on a Bible study group in 2015 . .
“If you really care about the lives lost here, you should honor the lives lost and call for a ceasefire in Palestine,” one protester shouted, prompting a repeated chant of “cease now fires' started.
The crowd in the church shouted back “four more years” in an attempt to overshadow the protest, which lasted about 45 seconds. The protest came as fears grew about a broader war in the Middle East that could engulf U.S. troops. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in the region to try to lower the tone.
President Joe Biden was interrupted by protesters during his speech at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston
“Ceasefire now,” protesters shouted during Biden's speech
Biden discussed the issue after the crowd calmed down and assured him he was working to get hostages out of Gaza.
'Look people, I understand their passion. I have been working quietly… I have been working quietly with the Israeli government to get them to push back and significantly abandon Gaza. I use everything I can to do that. But I understand the passion,” he said.
The president was in South Carolina for a campaign speech where he attacked Trump's role on Jan. 6, the day a mob took over the Capitol in an attempt to stop the certification of Biden's 2020 presidential victory.
He also blasted his Republican rival for refusing to concede the last presidential election.
“Losers are taught to admit when they lose and he is a loser,” Biden said of the former president.
He also slammed Trump and his supporters for trying to rewrite the facts of January 6 and the Civil War.
“They tried to steal an election, and now they're trying to steal history by telling us that the violent mob was, and I quote, a peaceful protest,” Biden said.
Trump's actions “were among the worst derelictions of duty by any president in American history,” Biden said.
He also attacked Nikki Haley for not including slavery when asked about the causes of the Civil War, and he mocked Trump for suggesting the conflict could have been avoided through negotiations.
“Slavery was the cause of the Civil War. That is non-negotiable,” he said to applause.
Trump leads the polls for the Republican presidential candidate. GOP voters will begin their nominating contest later this month, with the Iowa caucuses taking place next Monday.
His speech also contained personal touches. Biden recalled his family's pain at the loss and choked up as he spoke about the loss of his son Beau.
“We were hurting more than we knew,” he said.
Biden lost his eldest son to brain cancer about a month before the church shooting in 2015. He talked about how the family found solace in church after their loss.
'We have come here to provide comfort. We get comfort from you,” he said.
During Biden's remarks, the pews were filled by survivors and the families of the 2015 shooting victims, as well as clergy and interfaith leaders.
The crowd repeatedly shouted “four more years” as the president stood to speak.
“It's going to go to my head,” Biden joked in response.
The president met with survivors and the families of the shooting victims after his remarks.
Biden is the first sitting president to speak at the historic church. His visit comes at a time when polls show him losing support among black voters.
“I have done my best to honor your trust. That means we must reject the small, narrow, narrow view of America, but also lift up a bigger and broader view of America,” Biden told the crowd.
He also listed his accomplishments, including his work to heal the economy, making Juneteenth a federal holiday and appointing a Black woman to the Supreme Court.
“We've come too far from where we started. No one told me the road would be easy,” he said. “I don't think the good Lord has brought us this far to leave us behind.”
Protesters at the church interrupted President Biden for about 45 seconds
South Carolina Democratic Rep. Jim Clyburn introduced Biden at the church
South Carolina, where African Americans make up about 60 percent of the Democratic electorate, will host the party's first primary on Feb. 3.
During the 2020 Democratic primaries, Biden's victory in South Carolina, which came largely thanks to black voters, put him on the path to the Democratic nomination.
Democratic Rep. James Clyburn, an early Biden supporter who propelled him to victory in South Carolina, said he is “very concerned” about the president's standing within the Black community.
“I'm not concerned — I'm very concerned,” he told CNN ahead of Biden's visit.
“My problem is that we have not been able to break through that MAGA wall to let people know exactly what this president has done,” Clyburn said.
Clyburn introduced Biden at church on Monday. In his remarks, Clyburn highlighted what Biden has done for the Black community, including forgiving student loans and appointing a Black woman as a Supreme Court justice.
Biden has gone after Trump in fundraising behind closed doors, criticizing him for his invocation of Nazi-style statements and accusing him of being the reason Roe vs. Wade was overturned, rolling back abortion rights in many states.
But at the start of the new year he makes his criticism public.
Trump leads Biden in the polls. The margin is small, but Trump's lead is stable. In the Polling average from RealClearPolitics in the general election, Trump has a two-point lead.
More worrying, Trump defeated Biden in two key voter groups, giving him an overall lead in the presidential race, the first new poll of 2024 showed.
Trump leads Biden among Hispanic voters by five points, 39%-34%, and among younger voters by three points, 37%-34%, according to a USA TODAY/Suffolk University survey.
Biden won both voting groups in the 2020 presidential contest, where he defeated Trump and won the White House.
The poll also shows Biden losing support among black voters, another important voting bloc.
He now has the support of just 63% of Black voters, a group he carried by as much as 87% in 2020.
The president's trip to South Carolina on Monday will be his fourth as president as he tries to court the all-important voting bloc.
His last trip to Mother Emanuel was almost nine years ago, in the spring of 2015.
About a month before the shooting, his eldest son Beau died of brain cancer. He and Jill Biden were vacationing on Kiawah Island, just outside Charleston, when the shootings occurred.
The Bidens – he was vice president at the time – attended the memorial service for the victims where President Barack Obama spoke.
The then vice president also addressed the congregation.
“No words can mend a broken heart, no music can fill a gaping void,” he said at the time. 'Sometimes even faith lets you down for a moment, sometimes you doubt.'