South Carolina held its first official Democratic presidential primary on Saturday. But when the polls closed, President Biden was 4,400 miles away in Los Angeles, stepping off Air Force One.
Biden's victory in the Palmetto State was a foregone conclusion, and the state's campaign spent a lot of time leading up to the primary.
So Biden headed west. Around 3:30 p.m. Saturday, he and First Lady Jill Biden landed at Los Angeles International Airport and were greeted by Sen. Alex Padilla and Rep. Maxine Waters, before the president took a helicopter to Santa Monica Airport. Across the street, the couple left separately for an event.
It is unclear what they were doing during their time in Los Angeles. There were no public events and no fundraisers known to be taking place.
Mr. Biden held a campaign meeting in the afternoon at the historic Bel Air mansion owned by director George Lucas.
Biden's son Hunter lives in Malibu, and Sunday is his 54th birthday. Hunter Biden is a favorite target of the president's Republican critics and is facing federal tax charges.
The Biden campaign did not respond to requests for comment.
Republicans predictably complained about Biden's decision not to visit South Carolina on Saturday, claiming it was a disdain for the incumbent.
“This shows how much he actually cares about coming and how serious he is about it,” said Abby Zilch, a spokeswoman for the South Carolina Republican Party. “He and Kamala have spent the past three months coming to South Carolina to tell South Carolina Democratic voters how much they appreciate the party here and how important South Carolina is to them. But , the day of the first Democratic primary, he was traveling all the way across the country.
Shortly after Air Force One landed at Los Angeles International Airport, news broke that Biden had easily won the South Carolina primary.
The state saved his 2020 presidential campaign, which saw him lose badly in Iowa and New Hampshire and finish a distant second in Nevada. With support from Congressman James E. Clyburn (D.C.) and the enthusiastic support of black voters in the state, Mr. This builds momentum for the important Super Tuesday primary.
In return, the Democratic National Committee, at Biden's request, overhauled its 2024 nominating calendar and made South Carolina the first state to officially hold a primary. The move was ostensibly aimed at giving diverse voters a greater say in the early stages of a campaign, compared to the caucuses and primaries in overwhelmingly white states like Iowa and New Hampshire. It was largely seen as a gift to South Carolina that saved Biden's 2020 campaign.
The President, Vice President Kamala Harris, and other Democrats Governor Gavin Newsomhas spent a significant amount of time promoting the Biden campaign in South Carolina.
On Friday, Harris spoke to supporters at South Carolina State University, a historically black university. After the drumline performance, Harris was introduced by the reigning Miss South Carolina State University and touted the government's efforts to cancel student loan debt, cap insulin costs and stimulate the economy.
“President Biden and I are acting on a fundamental belief that we work for the American people. And we fight for you every day,” she said. “But unfortunately, that's not the case for everyone. Case in point: Donald Trump. Former President Trump has made it clear many times that his fight is not for the people. He is fighting for himself. Fight for yourself.”
Scott Huffmon, a political science professor at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, South Carolina, noted the frequency of visits by Democrats and their representatives, including Second Gen. Doug Emhoff, who visited his home county on Friday.
“This is a payback for what South Carolina has done for Joe Biden, but on a larger scale, South Carolina is incredibly important to the Democratic presidential process across the country, and we want to make sure this relationship is close and warm.” It's incredibly important to keep it in good condition,” Huffmon said.
He added that most Palmetto State Democrats would be fine with Biden spending primary night in Los Angeles, given South Carolina's rightward swing in the general election. Trump easily captured the state in the 2020 presidential election. The last time a Democratic Party won a general election was in 1976, when their candidate was fellow Southerner Jimmy Carter.
“He has fulfilled his loyalty. He has fulfilled his bows and decency and now realism is setting in. He is not going to win South Carolina in November,” Huffmon said. “So, the debt is paid off. Now reality sets in.”
Indeed, on Sunday, Biden heads to a campaign event in Nevada, a state that holds the Democratic primary on Tuesday and is a crucial state for re-election.
