
CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) — President Joe Biden plans to visit a historic museum and an African American church during his quick trip to Charleston Sunday, former state Sen. Marlon Kimpson confirmed.
Kimpson, whom Biden appointed to serve on the U.S. Trade Advisory Committee in 2023, said Biden will attend a Sunday morning service at Royal Missionary Baptist Church in North Charleston.
From there, Biden will attend a private event at the International African American Museum in downtown Charleston.
He will be joined by Kimpson and South Carolina’s only Democrat U.S. Rep. James E. Clyburn during his quick visit.
READ MORE | “President Joe Biden to visit Charleston the day before Trump’s inauguration.”
The White House has yet to release its official itinerary for the president’s visit. Additionally, the timing of Biden’s arrival remains unknown.
South Carolina has long played a historic role in Biden’s 2020 election story.
During the 2020 Democratic primary, South Carolina propelled Biden at a time when his campaign was in a perilous position: finishing fourth, fifth and second in the three previous early-voting states.
From South Carolina, with the endorsement of Clyburn, Biden went on to win 10 of the 14 states on Super Tuesday and eventually the nomination and White House.
As a reward, Biden, during his time in the White House, reordered the primary states, making South Carolina the first state to vote for Democrat candidates. At the time, it was believed to be a nod to Biden’s strong support among Black voters in the state.
READ MORE | “President Biden speaks at Mother Emanuel AME Church, Cogswell’s swearing in as Charleston mayor: WATCH.”
Biden’s latest visit to the Holy City coincides with Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend.
Biden has been to Royal Missionary before. He attended a service there on the last Sunday before the 2020 Democratic presidential primary.
During the 2024 Democratic presidential primary, Biden cruised to a win in the Palmetto State, trouncing Dean Phillips, a congressman from Minnesota, and author Marianne Williamson.
“In 2020, it was the voters of South Carolina who proved the pundits wrong, breathed new life into our campaign, and set us on the path to winning the presidency,” Biden said in a statement following his 2024 primary win. “Now in 2024, the people of South Carolina have spoken again and I have no doubt that you have set us on the path to winning the Presidency again — and making Donald Trump a loser — again.”
His awful debate performance would push him out of the race four months later, thrusting Vice President Kamala Harris to the top of the ticket to face Trump – a race she ultimately lost.
Last January, Biden visited Charleston alongside Clyburn, speaking at Mother Emanuel AME Church, where he derided the philosophy that led a white supremacist to murder nine Black parishioners. During that speech, on the same day as Charleston Mayor William Cogswell’s inauguration, Biden said that the same poisonous white supremacist beliefs are alive in American politics currently – mainly spread by Trump.
Following Biden’s short visit to Charleston, he will attend Trump’s inauguration the next day.