Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., said Friday he would back Vice President Kamala Harris should President Joe Biden end his reelection bid, although he also asserted that Biden is still "mentally fit" with one of the "best minds" he has ever worked with.
Clyburn was instrumental in propelling Biden toward winning the Democrat nomination in 2020 with a victory in the South Carolina primary. In an interview with NBC, he was asked "is this the same Joe Biden that we saw two years ago?"
"Well, look, I grew up in..." Clyburn started to say before he was asked again, "Is it the same Joe Biden?"
"No," Clyburn said emphatically, adding that, "I'm not the same Jim Clyburn that I was four years ago."
Clyburn later told NBC that Biden isn't physically the same, but "mentally, I do think so. He is still grasping what this county is all about."
"He has one of the best minds that I have ever been around," Clyburn said. "The people who've been around him will tell you that, and so I would hope that we will focus on the substance of this man, rather than these sometimes-misspoken words and phrases, and how he has run this country."
When asked whether Harris would have his endorsement, Clyburn responded: "Absolutely."
"No question about that," he said. "She has acquitted herself well in the job as vice president, and he never would have picked her in the first place if he did not think that she was capable of being president. And I think that she's demonstrated, especially in these recent weeks, when all of this microscope has been focused on her and him. She has acquitted herself famously."
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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