Rep. Clyburn on Biden’s standing among Democratic base and Black voters

Geoff Bennett:

South Carolina voters head to the polls tomorrow for the first official Democratic primary of the year.

Four years ago, Black voters in South Carolina rescued Joe Biden's bid for the presidency, fueled in large part by an endorsement from Congressman James Clyburn. That South Carolina victory put then-candidate Biden on a path to the White House.

I spoke with Congressman Clyburn earlier today about the president's standing among the Democratic base and with Black Americans in particular.

Congressman Clyburn, thanks so much for being with us.

Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC):

Thank you very much for having me.

Geoff Bennett:

So I know you say the president still enjoys strong support in South Carolina, but, more broadly, a December Associated Press poll found that 50 percent of Black adults said they approve of President Biden, but that's compared with 86 percent who said the same thing back in July of 2021.

What do you think accounts for that slip in support overall?

Rep. James Clyburn:

Well, I don't think there's been a big slip in support.

I think that people expressed themselves at the time they were asked the question. Now, back at the time this poll was taking place, I was asking questions about people who believed what they were seeing on social media.

The best example I know is on student loan debt relief. Joe Biden had promised that, and that was a big, big deal in the African American community. And when he offered his programs to reduce or eliminate that debt, he got sued. And that lawsuit was lost. And everybody focused on the fact that he lost the lawsuit.

Nobody focused on the fact that there were four other categories that he was working on which had resulted in $137 billion in debt elimination for 3.7 million people. That was not being reported. And there was never a report in South Carolina about that until Joe Biden came to South Carolina Emanuel Church.

I introduced him that day, and I decided to go a different route in introducing the president. And I brought that up. Immediately, they started reporting on it. Found one young lady at South Carolina State, my alma mater, where we're going to be this afternoon. She had gotten $256,000 dollars in debt relief, and had never been reported on.

And these kinds of things have people thinking that Joe Biden had not kept any promises. People didn't tie these programs like the Rescue Act, the largest infrastructure bill in the history. Now here in South Carolina, we are improving roads and bridges like we have never done before. That is because of Joe Biden's bipartisan infrastructure bill, but people didn't tie that to him, insulin $35 a month.

My late wife was spending upwards of $800 a month on the insulin for the diabetes that she lost her life to. Now you're saying, people on Medicare, you got a cap of $35 a month. So these things were not being reported to the American people sufficiently.

Now that people are hearing about them, you're getting the word out, not to mention the job support this morning, double what people had projected, the growth in the economy last quarter double what people had projected. Joe Biden is doing what he said he would do, and the American people are beginning to feel it.

And that's why you got those numbers. I guarantee you, you will see. Check the Black precincts tomorrow night, and I guarantee you will see great approval of Joe Biden.

Geoff Bennett:

Well, you recently said that you were concerned about the Biden campaign's ability to reach Black voters and that the campaign, in your words, needed to flood the zone.

What more should the Biden campaign, in your view, be doing?

Rep. James Clyburn:

That's what I'm talking about now, flood the zone, getting this information out there using our own methods of getting it out there, using social media, using digital stuff, using boots on the ground.

Look, this campaign is going to be won on turnout. Now, how best to turn voters out? I maintain that the best way to turn voters out is not on television. It's on the ground. You have got to get boots on the ground. And we have got to make a significant investment in boots on the ground.

Geoff Bennett:

Congressman, there was a moment during the 2020 campaign when then-candidate Biden referred to himself as a transitional candidate, a bridge to the next generation of Democratic talent.

Of course, President Biden has every right to run again, but there are Democrats who support him, but who question, given his age, why he didn't pass the torch.

(LAUGHTER)

Rep. James Clyburn:

I don't understand why you feel that you place a limit on someone's transition. Is it transition for four years or for eight years?

He is a transitional president, moving from the debacle of the Trump years into laying a foundation for the future of our party. And he is going to pass the torch to a younger generation, to a more progressive generation. And — but he's not going to do it on anybody else's timetable, but his own.

And so I don't know why people think they have a right to tell you how long the transition period ought to be.

Geoff Bennett:

There's little doubt that Joe Biden will emerge as the winner tomorrow of South Carolina's Democratic primary, but what do you hope the overall message is coming out of South Carolina tomorrow?

Rep. James Clyburn:

That the majority of the voters in the Democratic primary in South Carolina will pick freedom and democracy over autocracy any day.

This is about the future. And I hope the time will come in this election that the American people will see that they have a responsibility. This is not the Democratic Party's responsibility. This is this country's responsibility to maintain this democracy and to maintain the freedoms.

And I would hope that that's the message that comes out tomorrow night.

Geoff Bennett:

That is South Carolina Democratic Congressman James Clyburn.

Thanks so much for your time.

Rep. James Clyburn:

Thank you.