MANCHESTER, New Hampshire — New Hampshire voters who waited in the cold to see whether Joe Biden had any fight left in him didn’t return home disappointed.
In a 2020 Democratic presidential primary cycle that has been largely cordial, Biden, 77, debuted a fiery stump speech in Manchester’s Rex Theater in which he excoriated surging Pete Buttigieg for his lack of appeal among black Democrats.
“The only Democrats to win the presidency is where we have overwhelming support from the African American community, and don’t take it for granted,” the former vice president said, looking ahead of Tuesday’s New Hampshire contest to the South Carolina primary on Feb. 29.
He added, “I got into politics because of civil rights. I’m proud of the fact that I’ve [had] overwhelming support from black community my whole career. I’m proud of the fact that I served as the vice president of the first African American president in American history.”
Biden’s rally, held moments after his campaign released its first attack ad targeting Buttigieg, recycled some of his old hits on the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and another rival in the Democratic race for the White House: Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, 78.
On Saturday, the candidate who was Delaware’s senator for 36 years highlighted how the pair presented different risks to the electorate, either because of their lack of experience or because of how being a socialist would be a down-ballot drag.
Biden, who placed a disappointing fourth in Iowa to Buttigieg and Sanders’s close one-two finish, told the crowd he “never paid attention to the front-runner talk” despite defending his status earlier in the process.
A poor performance in New Hampshire could hurt him before Nevada’s caucuses on Feb. 22 and beyond, where he’s expecting a stronger showing based on his backing from minority Democrats.
Biden also reflected on how personal tragedy has touched his life, losing his first wife and 1-year-old daughter in a 1972 car crash before his son Beau died of brain cancer in 2015 at the age of 46.
“I’ll be damned if I’m going to stand by and lose my country too,” he concluded.
Whether the rhetoric will boost him in New Hampshire remains to be seen. Many of the people in attendance were from out of state, while a handful left early so they could meet Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar after Biden ran more than an hour late.
