President Joe Biden was in South Carolina today – where the 2024 Democratic presidential primary campaign kicks off on February 3. While there, the president tried to make the case that his economic agenda is helping keep even red states humming. The enthusiasm level for that argument, even among Democrats, remains to be seen.
Dr. Charles Dunn, professor emeritus of government at Clemson University, points out that Biden lost to Trump by almost 12 points in 2020 – and he contends things haven't change much on that front since.
"I don't sense from my friends in South Carolina that people are on fire for Joe Biden," he tells AFN. "There is no overwhelming preponderance of talk favoring Biden in the state of South Carolina. It's going to be a tough go for him."
The last time South Carolina went for the Democratic presidential candidate was in 1976 when Georgia native Jimmy Carter headed up that party's ticket.
Indictments – boon or bust?
Former President Donald Trump also was in the Palmetto State over the weekend. According to Dunn, that Saturday rally in the small town of Pickens (population approximately 3,400) did not produce the kind of enthusiastic support Trump needed – despite the fact more than 50,000 people gathered downtown for the rally.
Even though he is facing several criminal indictments, the former president continues to lead GOP presidential preference polls by more than 30 points over second-place Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Dunn suggests Trump can't continue to carry such high poll numbers among Republican voters.
"I've heard too many people who you would expect to be Trump loyalists be exactly the opposite," he shares. "And this matter of indictments – yeah, every indictment gets him near the nomination, but not necessarily. People get tired of these indictments – and [there's been] no resolution of his legal situation."
Still, Dunn admits it seems like "the more indictments he gets, the better his chances" to win the nomination. "And maybe go on to in the election," he continues. "It would seem that way. But the meeting in Pickens did not produce the kind of overwhelming, enthusiastic support [that Trump needed]."
The GOP's South Carolina presidential primary will occur on February 24 – three weeks after the Democratic primary.
