Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) warned that Democrats will lose in November if they do not immediately unite behind a single presidential candidate, but leaving the door open to supporting a new contender if President Biden withdraws from the race.
Clyburn stated in a CNN “State of the Union” interview with Jake Tapper on Sunday that he still supports Biden “until he changes his mind” about being the party’s nominee.
“If you go to the convention, have an open process in the convention, It will come out the same way it came out in 1968, 1972 and 1980,” Clyburn remarked.
“When we had a contested process on the floor of the convention in 1980, we lost an incumbent president and in 1972, we carried one state, Massachusetts, and the District of Columbia. And all of us know what happened in 1968 when we ran Lyndon Johnson out of the race, with a great record Lyndon Johnson had, got rid of him over one issue, the Vietnam War. Here, we are now using one issue to get rid of a president, the result would be the same.” he continued.
“I support Joe Biden. He is still in this race. He will be the nominee if he stays in the race. And I think all of us should look for ways to coalesce around that candidate.” he added.
Despite growing misgivings among Democrats about Biden’s campaign, the long-time Biden loyalist stated that he will continue to support the president.
Sen. Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.) joined the clamor of voices in and around the Democratic Party pushing Biden to withdraw from the race on Sunday, fearing that he will be unable to overcome former President Donald Trump in November.
Despite mounting pressure, Biden and his campaign have maintained that the president will be the Democratic nominee.
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