Thread by @jackmjenkins

At the Mt. Moriah Missionary Baptist Church for the National Action Network’s ministers breakfast this morning in North Charleston, where Biden, Klobuchar, Sanders, Buttigieg, Steyer, and Warren are slated to address a crowd that includes a number of faith leaders.

Also here: James Clyburn, who is set to unveil his endorsement today (unclear when he would do that, though.)

Also spotted here as the event gets underway: Jaime Harrison, SC senate candidate running against Lindsey Graham, and DNC faith outreach director Derrick Harkins.

Oh also Joe Biden is onstage now.

Rev. Al Sharpton gives a shoutout to Jaime Harrison, saying everyone is praying for him.

Side note: Am I apparently the only print reporter here in the balcony? It appears so! (The rest are photographers.)

Do I regret hanging out here? No I do not! Church gymnasium balconies are the best!

I am strangely enthusiastic about this point!

Rep. Clyburn now speaking after being handed an award.

He’s discussing the biblical book of James, arguing that if someone is in need you can’t just pray for them. You must feed/clothe them, bc “faith without works is dead.”

Connects this to support for healthcare policy.

Note: Clyburn is supposed to endorse today, and Biden is sitting *right there* behind him.

Sharpton says that the presidential candidates were not asked to deliver sermons this AM because “we’re preachers!”

We’ll see how long that holds up.

As Sharpton introduces Biden, shouts of support from the crowd.

Says “some folks are progressive about everything but race,” and suggests that Biden “pushed a lot of things” in the White House that otherwise would not have gotten done.

Crowd erupts as Biden takes the podium.

Biden, forehead ashed for Ash Wednesday, leads with a Kierkegaard quote he uses often: “faith sees best in the dark.”

Adds, “I’m not proselytizing … but I don’t know how people make it without faith,” and references his Catholicism.

Adds a Biblical reference, to applause: “what you’ve done to the least of my brethren you’ve done to me.”

Adds: “Whether I’m president or not, I’m going to be there to help you do the work,” and says “Character is on the ballot.”

As he closes, he gets a standing ovation.

Up next: Klobuchar.

Sharpton notes that she has spoken at NAN events and worked with their staff.

Klobuchar rooting her speech in policy, wrapping it around MLK's "single Garment of destiny" line and connecting it to increasing the minimum wage, gun violence legislations, and criminal justice reform.

Interesting argument from Klobuchar, arguing that just as one doesn't lose the right to worship after not attending worship in a while, so too should the US protect citizens' right to vote even if they haven't voted in a while (which says is the case with voting purges).

Next up: Pete Buttigieg.

Buttigieg says "it is humbling to ask anyone for their vote" but especially so with black voters whose right to vote was "earned through generations of struggle."

Makes a reference to a story of visiting black churches during campaigns, arguing that people should also visit them/work with the community in the interim.

He then repeats lines from last night, such as noting the debate was a discussion of racial justice on an all-white stage.

Buttigieg's now acknowledging — with specific details — that he does not have the lived experience of black Americans, says Democrats need to keep the House and take the Senate (much applause when he mentions unseating Graham).

Adds "God does not belong to a political party!"

Of the three candidates who have spoken thus far — including Biden — Buttigieg is getting the most applause lines, giving the gathering a true campaign stump speech vibe.

Buttigieg getting biblical, invoking 1 Corinthians 12 (body parts talking to each other), using it to critique what he calls Trump's claim that "I alone can fix it."

As he finishes and walks offstage, Sharpton refers to Pete as "Rev."

Now up: Tom Steyer, who has put a lot of energy into South Carolina.

Steyer: “Faith without works is dead.”

Says his mother is “one of the most religious people I have ever met.”

Says the idea of “faith without works” is why he launched his campaign to impeach Trump.

Steyer notes that he has come to South Carolina "more than any other candidate," and that he came to understand what it's like to not be able to drink the water in Denmark, SC.

Says he would more than double minimum wage, argues that Trump is a racist.

Lots of applause lines.

Steyer talking about term limits.

"You want to get rid of Lindsey Graham?"

:: much applause ::

(Note: A voter told me shortly before the event that Steyer's support for term limits was an attractive policy)

Says again: "Faith without works is dead."

Then says African Americans get to "reset" the campaign on Saturday.

Notes that he draws a cross on his hand every day, saying: "You do the right thing every day even if they put you on the cross."

Steyer gets a standing ovation as he finishes.

He may not be the polling frontrunner in SC, but his support here seems real.

Now: Elizabeth Warren.

Leads by noting that she is a Methodist.

“Faith is just part of who we are” in Oklahoma, says she took her children for church.

Elizabeth Warren launches into a story of her teaching Sunday school.

She's been telling this story for years, and I reported on her recounting it to a group of pastors in 2018.

However: she seems to tell it freshly each time, switching up the cadence. religionnews.com/2020/01/24/war…

Warren invokes Matthew 25 — which she ALSO referenced in the debate last night — which she says calls for "uplifting and protecting the divine in each and every one of us."

Says Americans are ready for "such a time as this" — a biblical reference.

Pivoting to policy, she is discussing universal Pre-K, raising the wages of childcare and preschool teachers, pumping $800 billion into public schools, making various forms of college free, expand Pell Grants, and funding HBCUs, and canceling student loan debt.

Warren: "When I am president, we will have an America where the person in the White House talks about how every human being has value and we turn our back on no one."

Closes by noting her pastor is in the audience, says he prays over her before she does debates!

While introducing Bernie Sanders, Sharpton encourages voters not to be swayed by those who dismiss Sanders because of socialism and/or call him a communist.

Says people also dismissed Civil Rights leaders such as MLK and Bayard Rustin by calling them communist.

Sanders starts with a moral frame, saying it’s a “moral imperative that we defeat the most dangerous president,” referring to Trump.

As he continues to rail against Trump, the crowd burst into applause.

Sanders is recounting his history of participating in the Civil Rights movement, the crowd nodding along.

Pivots to Obama's election, saying he was "proud to support Barack Obama in both of his campaigns."

Sanders now quoting MLK when he talked about socialism, who said "this country has socialism for the rich and rugged individualism for the poor."

Sanders pivots into a policy discussion "I think maybe we need govt policies that protect working families, not just billionaires."

Talking about a litany of gun violence legislation — a topic he got knocked for in the debate last night — then lists other policies: raising minimum wage to $15, guarantee healthcare a human right, criminal justice reform.

"When we stand together ... we make profound change."

Invokes the civil rights movement, women's rights movement, LGBTQ rights movement, climate movement.

In closing: "Let us go forward together. Let us defeat Donald Trump. Let us transform this country."

And that wraps up the candidate speeches!