Barack Obama has made a rare intervention in the 2020 White House race to decry a “despicable” racially charged attack ad against Joe Biden. A pro-Trump group put out the clip that twists Mr Obama’s own words in order to undermine the Democratic contender. Mr Biden is hoping the black vote in South Carolina’s primary on Saturday will revive his campaign. Though Mr Biden was his vice-president, Mr Obama has observed neutrality in the race, refusing to endorse a contender. Joe Biden is one of eight candidates remaining in the race to become the Democratic candidate who will take on President Donald Trump, a Republican, in November’s election.

The ad – entitled South Carolina, Joe Biden Can’t Be Trusted – was broadcast on TV stations in the southern state before Tuesday night’s Democratic debate in Charleston, formerly America’s largest slave port. “Joe Biden promised to help our community,” says a female narrator in the video. “It was a lie.”

She introduces audio from Mr Obama in which he says: “Plantation politics. Black people in the worst jobs, the worst housing. Police brutality rampant. “But when the so-called black committeemen came around election time, we’d all line up and vote the straight Democratic ticket. “Sell our souls for a Christmas turkey.(bbc)…[+]