WASHINGTON ― President Joe Biden traveled to the state that helped catapult him to the White House on his final full day in office, telling worshippers at a church in North Charleston, South Carolina “we must hold on to hope” and “stay engaged.”
“We must always keep the faith in a better day to come,” Biden said at a morning service at Royal Missionary Baptist Church, a historically Black congregation. “I’m not going anywhere. I’m not kidding.
“People of South Carolina: Thank you for keeping the faith. It’s been the honor of my life to serve as your president.”
Biden is set to leave the White House Monday before President-elect Donald Trump is sworn in as the 47th president of the United States. Biden has not revealed his post-presidency plans but has promised he will remain active. He intends to write a book, the White House confirmed last week.
“As I close out this journey with you, I’m just as passionate about our work as I was as a 29-year-old kid. When I got elected, I wasn’t old enough to serve yet. I’m in no ways tired,” the 82-year-old Biden said, echoing one of the favorite hymns of The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. ahead of Monday’s holiday honoring the civil rights icon.
“Nobody told me the road would be easy,” Biden said. “I don’t believe he brought me this far to leave me. My fellow Americans, I don’t think the good Lord brought us this far to leave us behind.”
Biden’s 2020 Democratic presidential primary win in South Carolina, fueled by his strength with Black voters, was critical in reigniting his campaign when it appeared on the brink of collapse after primary losses in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada.
“I prayed with you here in February of 2020 when I was running for president,” Biden said. “On my final full day as president, of all the places, I wanted to be was back here with you.”
