Biden coming to South Carolina for 1st time since 2020 win

COLUMBIA, S.C. – President Joe Biden is returning to South Carolina, the authorities that played a pivotal role successful his march to the Democratic statesmanlike information and the White House, arsenic the featured talker astatine the graduation ceremonies this coming week astatine a historically Black university.

Biden connected Friday volition be the December commencement astatine South Carolina State University, according to announcements Saturday by the White House and the school.

The Orangeburg schoolhouse is the alma mater of U.S. House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, the top-ranking Black subordinate of Congress. On Saturday, Clyburn tweeted that helium would locomotion crossed the commencement signifier with graduates to get the diploma that helium did not person the accidental to person successful 1961. The schoolhouse said it did not clasp December ceremonies astatine that time, truthful Clyburn got his credential by mail.

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The assemblage said Clyburn was to beryllium the keynote speaker, but helium invited Biden to springiness the address.

The travel volition reunite Biden with Clyburn successful the authorities credited with turning astir Biden's flagging statesmanlike bid successful 2020. On the cusp of South Carolina's cardinal first-in-the-South primary, Clyburn gave his nationalist backing to Biden, a longtime person and governmental state whose run had struggled done less—than-stellar show successful earlier-voting states.

Biden won South Carolina by astir 30 percent points, subsequently bested main rival Bernie Sanders connected Super Tuesday and claimed the information earlier defeating Republican incumbent Donald Trump successful the wide election.

Biden has not been backmost to the authorities since his superior triumph successful February 2020, though different salient medication figures person been successful South Carolina during the archetypal twelvemonth of his presidency. First woman Jill Biden made 2 trips to the authorities successful October, visiting Brookland Baptist Church successful West Columbia, and past the Medical University of South Carolina.

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Vice President Kamala Harris kicked disconnected a nationwide vaccine campaign successful Greenville this summer. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh visited national workers astatine the Port of Charleston successful November.

Republicans perchance eyeing their party's information for 2024 person made appearances successful caller months. They see erstwhile Vice President Mike Pence, erstwhile Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and erstwhile U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley.

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Meg Kinnard tin beryllium reached astatine http://twitter.com/MegKinnardAP.

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