‘We must speak out against hate’: Former VP Joe Biden condemns Trump during Conway event
Touting his long-standing record in politics, presidential candidate Joe Biden stressed the need for unity during a campaign stop in Conway Thursday night.
Before a few hundred supporters at Coastal Carolina University, the former Vice President said the nation must work together to fight back against hate and regain its soul, urging that four more years with President Donald Trump in the White House will be detrimental to the country. Biden condemned Trump for igniting a level of division that must be restored with decency.
“Everything that has made us special has been the fact that we are as diverse and as consequential as we are,” Biden said. “Silence is complicity; we must speak out against hate, we must speak out against division and we must speak out against prejudice.”
Biden said the current policies in place have become “too wild, too dirty, too bad,” asserting how he was responsible for fixing any issue that fell before former President Barack Obama’s administration. Acknowledging a booming economy, Biden said Trump inherited that success but has failed to serve the working class.
Biden noted the need to improve the economy, health care, immigration reform, education and gun control, but professed his urgency to combat climate change by restoring the nation’s relationship with international leaders. Within his first 100 days in office, Biden said his first priority will be to rejoin the Paris Climate Agreement.
Additionally, he promised to provide the millions of undocumented immigrants a pathway to citizenship along with reinstating the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, to ensure recipients receive the protections that were enforced by the Obama-Biden administration.
“If the United States no longer speaks out on human rights, who will?” Biden said. “All of them will be protected.”
While Biden spent time reflecting on his eight-year tenure with Obama, supporters in attendance expressed why they intend to vote for him during South Carolina’s primary on Saturday. Myrtle Beach resident Maryann Jarczynski met Biden 45 years ago and has supported him since, calling him a man of his word.
“What is so important with him now is his honesty,” she said. “I trust in him. He believes in the spirit of America.”
First-time voter Maya Reyes said she believes Biden will improve the lives of immigrants and young people, like herself. Another first-time voter, North Myrtle Beach resident and Albania-native Elmira Petersen, is throwing her support behind Biden for his work in restoring peace in Kosovo.
Suffering from a broken heart, Myrtle Beach resident Kathleen McHugh said she met Biden about 30 years ago at a random bus stop in Washington D.C. where he provided relationship advice that she’s carried with her everyday since. She praised him as being an honest and kind man who will get the job done by bringing grace, dignity and pride back to the White House.
“This is the most important election of my lifetime,” McHugh said. “Everybody that’s running is a good candidate but all of them stand on Joe Biden’s shoulders.”
Biden is part of a crowded field of Democrats grappling for the presidential nomination that also includes U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders, of Vermont, Elizabeth Warren, of Massachusetts, and Amy Klobuchar, of Minnesota. Former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg, billionaire businessman Tom Steyer, former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg and Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, of Hawaii, are also in the running.
Biden said he’s more optimistic in America’s chances now than he’s ever been, urging that he’ll be the one to remove Trump from office if he gets the nomination. Going to the polls, Biden pressed voters to reflect on the current administration and remember the values and diverse people who make up the nation’s population.
“The United States of America is the wealthiest country in the history of the world,” Biden said. “If we continue to invest in our people, invest in our education, invest in research and development, invest in technology, invest in medical science, if we do that, we’ll maintain that position for as far as thee I can see.”
The polls will be open on Saturday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Voting locations will be held across Horry County. You can find your voting location on the bottom of your voter registration card or by visiting the South Carolina Election Commission website.
This story was originally published February 27, 2020 at 11:20 PM.
