Biden ally and South Carolina Rep. James Clyburn (D.) said he fully supports President Joe Biden’s reelection bid but left the door open for the incumbent to "change his mind" before the Democratic convention.
"The conversation should focus on the record of this administration, on the alternative to his election, and let Joe Biden continue to make his own decision about his future. He’s earned that right, and I am going to give him that much respect," he told Today’s Craig Melvin on Friday. "If he decides to change his mind later on, then we will respond to that. We have until the 19th of August to open our convention."
Clyburn is the latest Biden ally to support the president while also acknowledging he can still leave the race. Nancy Pelosi said in a MSNBC interview this week that the president still has to make up his mind, although Biden and his team have reiterated multiple times that the 81-year-old president has decided to stay in the race for the White House.
Clyburn repeatedly made excuses for the octogenarian president’s poor performance during the NATO summit and press conference on Thursday.
The Palmetto State congressman said it is "almost natural" for Joe Biden to "mangle" words like he did on Thursday since he grew up with a stutter. Biden introduced President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine as "President Putin" and mixed up his own vice president, Kamala Harris, with his chief opponent, Donald Trump.
Clyburn has been a prominent supporter of the president since 2020, when his endorsement helped the then-presidential candidate win the South Carolina primary and, ultimately, the Democratic nomination.
"He has one of the best minds that I've ever been around," the South Carolina lawmaker said on Friday. "I would hope that we would focus on the substance of this man … and how he has run this country."
Other congressional Democrats, however, have come out against Biden, calling for the commander in chief to leave the race. Since his abysmal debate performance, at least 18 Democratic lawmakers have turned on Biden’s campaign.