Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC), a top ally of President Joe Biden and the House Assistant Democratic Leader had a fact-challenged appearance during his Sunday appearance on CNN's "State of the Union." As Katie covered, this included tying Donald Trump to the June 2015 Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church shooting, despite how he was not even president at the time. He continued his inflammatory remarks when also speaking at the church itself before Biden on Monday. But, he did issue a warning host Jake Tapper as well, about the base turning out for Biden.
As Tapper pointed out, "The Washington Post reports that former President Obama met for a private lunch with President Biden recently to express concern about how Biden is managing his reelection bid." He went on to point out that "this comes as President Biden is struggling to solidify support among black voters, including on that trip to South Carolina."
He also reminded the Biden ally that "obviously, you were instrumental in Biden getting the Democratic nomination" and obviously, black voters were instrumental in President Biden getting -- then-Senator Biden or then-Vice President Biden getting the nomination in 2020" before asking him "how worried are you about black voters showing up for President Biden in November?"
"Well, I'm not worried. I'm very concerned," Clyburn offered, sharing how he's sat down with Biden and has seen the reports. However, he also shared "I have no problem with the Biden administration and what it has done," going on to rant about MAGA Republicans, as Biden and his surrogates have done in a way to demonize their political opponents.
"My problem is that we have not been able to break through that MAGA wall in order to get to people exactly what this president has done. If you took the little simple thing as student loan debt relief, he promised to relieve student loan debt, and he has done that," he went on to add.
Is Clyburn for real? How could he possibly expect to be "able to break through that MAGA wall," as he calls it, when he and others demonize them so fiercely? Biden may have promised to "relieve student loan debt," in reality redistributing it, but that doesn't mean he had the authority to do so, as the U.S. Supreme Court found.
Clyburn went on to rant about that some more. "But one part of his promise he was not able to keep because six Republican attorneys general and the United States Supreme Court, in a 6-3 vote, stopped him from doing so," he complained. "But he sought another way, and he has forgiven $132 billion to 3.4 million people in student loan debt. But nobody writes about that. Nobody talks about that. I'm still hearing from people as recent as yesterday that he did not keep his promise on student loan debt relief. And he has," Clyburn continued.
"Eighty percent of what he said he would do, he has done, and is continuing to do it, and people don't focus on that. They only focus on that 20 percent affected by that court decision, rather than what he did to get beyond the court decision."
The top Democrat made such remarks on Monday as well when speaking before Biden at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church.
Democrat Rep. Jim Clyburn criticizes "a right-wing, ethically-challenged Supreme Court" for ruling Biden's unilateral student loan debt bailout was unconstitutional — and praises Biden for ignoring it pic.twitter.com/gfRNtQzT5g
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) January 8, 2024
Such complaints from Clyburn sound an awful like how the Biden White House has handled what they perceive to be less than favorable coverage from the already friendly mainstream media. The president has even called reporters in for shakedowns of sorts, as Matt has covered.
Clyburn tried to appeal further to black Americans while speaking to Tapper, as he talked about Biden nominating black women to the Supreme Court and the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, doing so on the basis of their sex and race. Clyburn also touted the misnamed "Inflation Reduction Act" as well. "So this president is keeping his promises, but keep--people keep focusing on the one or two things he did not get accomplished," he continued to complain.
When it comes to acknowledging what Biden was unable to get done by not getting the John Lewis Voter Education and Advancement Act passed, Clyburn promised "we are going to keep working until we get it done." Biden sought to promote the bill by viciously smearing his Republican opponents in order to get legislation passed that would have led to the federal overhaul of elections. Not only did it fail in the Senate, but Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) also failed to nuke the filibuster in order to get it passed.
Before the segment moved on to addressing other topics, Tapper pointed out "it sounds like the Biden administration needs to fly you
around the country to speak on his behalf."
When it comes to unpacking Tapper and Clyburn's exchange, Clyburn is right to be concerned. It's not just because of such reports from The Washington Post, but the polls as well. RealClearPolling has Trump down a bit in a hypothetical rematch, but the former and potentially future president still has a lead of +1.2 against Biden. That lead is in part due to polls showing Biden in trouble with black voters and other key demographics, as we've analyzed before.
A USA Today/Suffolk University poll released at the start of this year made headlines for how it showed Biden losing support among Hispanics and black voters, carrying only 63 percent among black voters.
The demographic was instrumental to Biden winning in 2020, as the split was 92-8 percent, as Pew Research highlighted in their analysis of the election.
Last month, Bloomberg/Morning Consult released a poll highlighting how Trump was not only performing well in battleground states, but that Biden was losing support there and losing it among black voters. That poll also spoke to what Clyburn addressed, student loan debt, with young voters showing they don't think the president is doing enough.
Across 7 swing states, Biden has lost ground in recent months among middle-aged voters, who exit polling shows made up large shares of the electorate in 2020, as well as among two key Democratic constituencies: young and Black voters. https://t.co/rnwTOvnUXp pic.twitter.com/P2Q7nZhZXe
— Morning Consult (@MorningConsult) December 14, 2023
A poll released last week from The Economist/YouGov shows that Biden has 55 percent support among black respondents. And, when it comes to a hypothetical rematch between Biden and Trump, the poll shows that Biden has the support of just 66 percent of black voters, while 14 percent would vote for Trump.
A Fox News report from earlier on Tuesday, highlighting how black voters have become disenchanted with the president, especially when it comes to higher costs, also highlighted the president's drop in approval.
"Biden's support among the Black community has shrunk in recent years, with Fox News polling indicating his approval slid 25% since 2021. He once stood at 87% approval, but that number declined to 62% in 2023," that report mentioned, linking to another story from last month about more disappointed black voters.
NBC News and The Hill have also showcased black voters angry with the president.
"How worried are you about Black voters showing up for President Biden in November?"
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) January 7, 2024
Democrat Rep. Jim Clyburn, Biden campaign co-chair: "I'm not 'worried.' I'm 'very concerned.'" pic.twitter.com/2ZlwHr6sBS
Tapper was smart to point out just how instrumental Clyburn was to getting the nomination. Before he won South Carolina in March 2020, Biden had lost early nominating states of Iowa and New Hampshire, coming in fourth and fifth place, respectively.
What's also relevant, though, as Tapper didn't mention, is that South Carolina has been rewarded by Biden and the DNC as they've now made South Carolina their first primary, the date set for February 3. The move caused considerable disarray, with New Hampshire keeping its primary of January 23. Biden won't even appear on the ballot in the Granite State.
Clyburn has defended Biden before, though in more optimistic terms. Before and leading up to Biden making his reelection bid official last year, even liberal outlets like The New York Times expressed skepticism. "'Let's finish the job,'" told CNN last year, referencing a line from Biden's State of the Union address, also going on to say "I think that was a great refrain, and I do believe he's led a tremendous foundation for doing that, and I think the American people will respond very positively." Closer to that April announcement, Clyburn claimed while on "Morning Joe" that Biden "he has to show the energy that he has been showing over the past several months and he has to continue to pursue an agenda that will, as he says, build this economy from the bottom up and from the middle out so that people can feel a part of this."
The point is here that Clyburn has considerable influence among Democrats, especially black voters. If the Biden campaign takes Tappper's advice and trots Clyburn out, that could provide the help that the president needs.
That Fox News report, citing a report from NBC News, also highlighted how black voters might still prefer Biden to the alternative, likely to be Trump:
A recent NBC News report indicated Biden's 2024 re-election message is not resonating with South Carolina voters, with one even suggesting his support in the Black community was "borrowed" from former President Obama in 2020.
A 41-year-old South Carolina voter told the outlet, "it's been a lot of broken promises."
However, she also said she prefers Biden to the alternative, which could likely be former President Donald Trump, the current GOP frontrunner.
Black voters not turning out for the president would be good news for Republicans. But, there's always the possibility that the base could end up returning home as it gets closer to the actual election. This is especially a precarious situation if Republicans get too excited, lose some of the caution, and get sloppy in the process.
