Live updates: Charleston prepares to welcome Joe Biden on his final day as president

President Joe Biden took the stage around 4 p.m. at the International African American Museum on Charleston Harbor after speaking at Royal Missionary Baptist Church.

At the North Charleston church, Biden delivered remarks about today’s ceasefire and hostage swap in the Gaza Strip before taking his place in a front-row pew. He addressed congregants in a roughly 15-minute speech, thanking the people of South Carolina for their help in delivering him the White House in 2020.

Biden and the first lady toured the museum before addressing a crowd of supporters.

Keep reading for up-to-date developments surrounding Biden’s visit.

Biden prepares to take stage at International African American Museum

3:48 p.m. An audience of about 300 people patiently waited for Biden to take the stage set up below the IAAM.

The Voices of Liberation, a community choir with members throughout the country, lined the steps up to the museum. Dressed in Gullah Geechee wear, they stood on risers behind a podium, singing songs of praise as people found their seats.

A few notable attendees sat among the crowd, including Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.

The White House also invited Jacques Fabre-Jeune, the Bishop of Charleston, to watch Biden’s remarks. The president is Catholic but his support of abortion protections put him at odds with some faith leaders.

Fabre-Jeune held up his iPhone to capture the singing choir.

Museum CEO Tonya Matthews gave a brief introduction before the Rev. Joseph Darby took the podium. The senior pastor in Charleston reflected on the museum’s origins.

“We thought it would be a cold day in Charleston before we remembered African American history. Well, it’s a little chilly out here today,” he said with a wry smile.

The choir then welcomed first lady Jill Biden to the stage.

“It’s so good to be back in South Carolina today where the entire Biden family always feels at home,” she said. “Joe and I have always been drawn to you, South Carolina. You met us with kindness and incredible warmth here. We found mentors and friends in your city and your town. We found respite on your shores.”

She spoke of the Biden family’s loss when her son Beau died from brain cancer.

“You helped us heal when we had reached life’s lowest lows,” Jill Biden said. “It’s also here in 2020 where you gave us wings.”

U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn addressed the crowd next. South Carolina’s lone Democratic congressman recounted how the 2020 presidential primary changed directions in the Palmetto State, and why he endorsed Biden at the time.

“I came here and I stood before you and I said, ‘I know Joe. We know Joe. But most importantly, Joe knows us,'” Clyburn said.

“He has demonstrated in these four years how well he knows the American people,” he added.

— Caitlin Byrd, Kailey Cota and Megan Fernandes in Charleston

Biden tours International African American Museum exhibits

3:10 p.m. U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn walked into the Gullah Geechee exhibit first, finding his mark on the floor and taking a few glances around the room. A full-size bateau sat in the center not far from a recreated praise house.

Former Charleston Mayor Joe Riley held his wife Charlotte’s hand as he slowly moved through the space, leaning on his cane as he marveled at the museum. The longtime mayor helped spearhead its creation, announcing in 2000 his effort to build a space where the stories of African Americans would be told unflinchingly and not watered down.

Riley and Clyburn looked at each other.

“This is so fascinating,” Riley marveled.

“Thank you so much,” Clyburn told him, adding, “You put a lifetime into this.”

Then Tonya Matthews, the museum’s CEO, led Biden and the first lady into the room.

They walked through the prayer house as Matthews shared the potential origin of the term “Gullah.” She described how many of the traditions and foods people think of as Southern are actually influenced by West Africa and the Gullah-Geechee people, who were brought to America by enslavers.

Biden looked at photos of fishermen casting a net into the Atlantic Ocean. He looked at the boat that had been made “the old way,” as Matthews put it.

“Do you know about the Gullah Geechee community?” Biden asked the traveling press before they were shuffled to the next exhibit about Carolina gold rice.

— Caitlin Byrd in Charleston

Supporters, protesters greet Biden at the International African American Museum

1:07 p.m. The president’s motorcade left Royal Missionary Baptist Church and tore into downtown Charleston’s peninsula toward the IAAM.

A group of protesters stood on East Bay Street chanting and holding a large banner that read: “Biden’s Legacy = Genocide” — a reference to the 15 months of fighting in the Gaza Strip. 

Outside IAAM on Wharfside Street a line of hundreds of Biden supporters waited to get through security. Among them was Jaime Harrison, departing chair of the Democratic Party nationally.

He said it’s “extremely special” that Biden has chosen to spend his last full day in office in Charleston. He called Biden’s impact “instrumental,” particularly in making sure the African American community is “duly represented.”

Across from the museum’s entrance stood a small cluster of President-elect Donald Trump supporters.

Rod Robertson and Leslie Jacobs stood together holding a red “Make America Great Again” sign. They were here to celebrate the “sun setting on the Biden empire,” Robertson said.

Biden’s trip to Charleston is about his hubris and personal desire for publicity, they said.

“The question is: Why is he here?” Robertson asked. “It’s just a last futile public expenditure to feather his nest as he desperately tries to position himself for his run into eternity.”

— Caitlin Byrd and Kailey Cota in Charleston

Biden thanks South Carolina in speech at Royal Missionary Baptist Church

12:58 p.m. Biden spent much of his roughly 15-minute speech thanking the people of South Carolina for their help in delivering him the White House in 2020.

Royal Missionary Baptist Church was a particularly fitting location. Biden addressed the congregation in February 2020, on the final Sunday before the state held its Democratic presidential primary.

During that service, Biden told attendees they had the power to decide who would be the next president. He said he wanted to earn their support.

Five years later, Biden had the chance to formally express his gratitude.

He thanked U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn and his late wife Emily, whom Biden said made the congressman endorse him. He thanked constituents in South Carolina: “I owe you big.”

Echoing Clyburn’s words from just hours earlier, Biden said, “You were the ones who brought me to the dance.”

Biden was flailing in a large field of Democratic candidates in 2020. But he recovered, securing the South Carolina primary vote on his way to winning the nomination and eventually the White House.

The president grew emotional as he discussed one of the most difficult moments of his life. In 1972, just weeks after being elected as a senator in Delaware, Biden’s first wife and daughter were killed in a car accident. 

Biden said it was his friends in South Carolina — people like Sen. Fritz Hollings and his wife Peatsy, as well as Clyburn and his wife — who were always there for him.

He reflected on those great losses of his life — his wife and daughter, along with his son, Beau — and how in those times he felt like he was sucked into a black hole.

“Then … your friends bear witness to your pain. They pick you up,” he said. “They helped get me to Sabbath every Sunday. We arrived together and found grace together, moved from pain to purpose.”

Biden said he came to Royal Missionary today to speak about “the essential peace of redemption.”

“When the people we love go through hard times … we don’t turn on each other, we lean into each other,” he said. “That’s the sacred covenant of our nation.”

Biden called his time as president “the honor of my life.” But the 82-year-old said he wasn’t going anywhere. 

“As I close this journey, I’m just as passionate about our work as I was when I was a 29-year-old kid who got elected,” he said. “I’m in no way tired.”

— Caitlin Byrd in North Charleston

‘All I wanted to be was back here’: Biden addresses Royal Missionary Baptist Church congregation

12:44 p.m. The president walked up the few short steps to the pulpit, and the pastor quickly adjusted the microphone. The congregation was up on its feet. Biden embraced former state Sen. Marlon Kimpson and churchgoers continued to clap.

“Let me tell you what I told Jim (Clyburn) about 20 minutes ago,” Biden said. “Every time I spend time in the Black church, I think of one word: ‘Hope.’

“I prayed with you here in February of 2020, when I was running for president,” Biden said, “And on my final full day as president, all I wanted to be was back here.”

— Caitlin Byrd in North Charleston

Clyburn, Kimpson speak at Royal Missionary Baptist Church

12:39 p.m. U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn spoke after the pastor, calling Biden a “longtime friend.”

“Joe Biden has been what this country needed,” the congressman said, his voice shaking with emotion. “There has been very little appreciation that’s been shown for President Biden as of late.”

Clyburn said the nation did not appreciate Abraham Lincoln in his time, but eventually America did. He said one day Biden will be appreciated, too.

A woman in the congregation shouted out, “I appreciate him!”

Former state Sen. Marlon Kimpson, who worked in Biden’s administration, then introduced the president. He thanked Biden for his “commitment to Black America” and “lifting up the middle class.”

Biden smiled at this, his black clipboard resting in his lap.

— Caitlin Byrd in North Charleston

The Rev. Isaac Holt speaks about MLK Jr., Biden in Sunday sermon

12:22 p.m. On the Sunday before Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the Rev. Isaac Holt’s sermon emphasized the life and legacy of the civil rights leader.

“A lot of folks in this generation don’t understand the magnitude of the man,” he said.

Holt, wearing a blue tie and round glasses, spoke about the benefits of struggle. He noted King repeatedly used the word “struggle” to describe his persistent challenge to bring racial justice to this nation.

“Everyone in this room got a struggle right now,” Holt said. “You gotta deal with racial hatred. You gotta deal with aging. You gotta deal with taxes. You gotta deal with weather. Now, we got to struggle.”

Holt’s sermon was free-flowing, taking on a rhythm of its own. He veered away for a moment to speak of Biden’s character, calling the president a good man. He tried to return to his remarks before stopping again and saying, “You say I gotta wrap up the sermon?”

The gospel choir behind Holt was in stitches, one of them holding their sides in laughter. The congregation erupted in loud laughter too, everyone in on the same joke of a pastor going on just a little long.

Holt then spoke again of Biden. The president arrived at Royal Missionary and approached Holt. 

“Where do I put my offering?” Holt said Biden asked him. “Can I put it in your hand?”

Holt said yes, and the president gave his offering before he came through the doors of the church.

He joked to his congregation that they will hear the rest of his sermon next week.

— Caitlin Byrd in North Charleston

Standing ovation for Biden at Royal Missionary Baptist Church

11:25 a.m. Applause greeted Biden and his family as they took their seats in the first pew of the packed church.

The Rev. Isaac Holt called the president’s visit a “historic day,” joking that he was going to let the church choir loose.

They did — swaying, clapping and singing as Biden nodded along.

— Caitlin Byrd in North Charleston

Biden addresses Gaza ceasefire inside Royal Missionary Baptist Church

11:17 a.m. Biden strolled into a third-floor room at Royal Missionary Baptist Church as a Black gospel choir sang in the congregation below. National press stood shoulder to shoulder and cameras clicked as Biden read from prepared remarks about the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the hostage situation.

Biden predicted several hundred trucks were entering Gaza as he spoke.

“After so much pain, destruction and loss of life, today the guns in the Gaza Strip have gone silent,” he said.

Brokered by mediators in the U.S., Qatar and Egypt, the ceasefire will pause fighting after 15 months of war. Dozens of hostages held by militants in the Gaza Strip and hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel are set to be released.

Israel’s Cabinet approved the deal early Jan. 18.

The Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel killed some 1,200 people and left some 250 others captive. Nearly 100 hostages remain in Gaza. Israel responded with an offensive that has killed more than 46,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials.

Biden said this was a deal he had outlined back in May with support from the likes of the United Nations Security Council.

“The road to this deal has been not easy at all, and a long road,” he said.

Biden detailed the deal’s first phase, including that two American hostages will be released. The president also spoke about the broader region.

“In Lebanon there’s an opportunity for a future free from the grip of Hezbollah,” he said.

The ceasefire’s continuing success will depend on the incoming Trump administration, Biden added.

The president ended his comments saying he wasn’t going to take reporters’ questions as he had an entire congregation inside Royal Missionary waiting on him.

But he fielded one, noting that he received a call during his trip to South Carolina informing him that the first three hostages were being exchanged.

— Caitlin Byrd in North Charleston and White House pool report

Biden’s motorcade processes to Royal Missionary Baptist Church

10:41 a.m. The president’s motorcade made its way down East Montague Avenue in North Charleston toward Royal Missionary Baptist Church — home to the largest Black congregation in Charleston County.

Groups of people could be seen standing on the sidewalks with their phones up, eager to capture the moment Biden came to town. Snipers were set up on scaffolding outside the church as the press corps streamed inside.

Dressed in their Sunday best, church congregants and local dignitaries — including state Rep. Gillard, D-Charleston, and North Charleston Mayor Reggie Burgess — had been trickling into the church since about 9 a.m. Traffic to reach the church from Rivers Avenue stretched for more than a mile and a half two hours before the service began.

Rhondell Kinloch, 47, was in the audience the first time Biden visited Royal Missionary for a service in 2020. A presidency later, she approved of Biden’s performance in office and said she was grateful that he would come worship with them.

“He played the hand he was dealt,” Kinloch said.

— Caitlin Byrd and Alan Hovorka in North Charleston

Biden family arrives with hugs for Clyburn

10:37 a.m. Biden landed in Charleston on a gray Sunday morning. His family joined him for his last full day in office.

First lady Jill Biden deplaned with Biden, along with several family members: their daughter Ashley Biden and son Hunter Biden, plus Hunter Biden’s wife Melissa and their son.

Also on the flight was former Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin, who is a senior advisor to the president and director of the Office of Public Engagement. U.S.

After saluting military officials, the president was welcomed by his longtime ally, Rep. Jim Clyburn. There was no need for a handshake between friends, and the two men embraced, patting each other on the back.

— Caitlin Byrd in North Charleston

Clyburn comments on Biden visit

9:44 a.m. Speaking to reporters at Joint Base Charleston, U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn said it was unsurprising when Biden told him he would spend his last full day in South Carolina.

Charleston and the Palmetto State has always held, Clyburn said, a special place in Biden’s heart.

“It’s always good for people to remember exactly, as we say down in Gullah Geechie country, who brought you, and I think South Carolina brought him to the dance,” Clyburn said, referring to the presidency. “So he’s here to let people know how much he appreciates that.”

Asked if he thinks the state will be tied to Biden’s legacy even though the president is very much of Delaware, Clyburn responded: Absolutely.

“I used to wonder about that, because it was nothing to see just to bump into Joe Biden in downtown Charleston at a restaurant or in a church when he was Vice President or even before,” Clyburn said.

“I think it says something for the two senior senators from South Carolina, one Democrat, the other Republican, both requested him to eulogize them,” Clyburn noted.

— Caitlin Byrd in North Charleston

Biden to address Gaza ceasefire, hostage deal

9:20 a.m. The president departed Joint Base Andrews in Maryland just before 9 a.m. When he lands in Charleston, he will address the ceasefire that took effect today in the Gaza Strip, the White House announced.

— Caitlin Byrd in North Charleston