Rep. James Clyburn Defends Biden’s Debate Performance

South Carolina Rep. James Clyburn (D) declared that President Joe Biden (D) had preparation “overload” ahead of his shaky debate performance and argued the president should continue his campaign.

Following Biden’s controversial performance at the presidential debate on Thursday, many Democrats became concerned about Biden’s ability to hold the office for four more years, and some called for him to drop his candidacy.

Clyburn disagreed with these suggestions and urged voters to look beyond Biden’s poor performance that night and rather reflect on his political history.

During an appearance on CNN’s State of the Union, Clyburn discussed the president’s shaky debate performance and argued that it was due to preparation overload.

“Yes, it was a bad performance. I’ve been around these things. I’ve been a part of debate preparation before, and I know when I see what I call preparation overload. And that’s exactly what was going on,” Clyburn said

He continued by discussing Biden’s appearance at a North Carolina rally following the debate.

“The other night, I saw Joe Biden reaching for words and phrases, and even numbers that he was loaded up with. The next day, he gets to North Carolina, he’s freewheeling, and he captivated the audience. And that’s what we should do,” Clyburn said.

Clyburn also argued that Biden’s preparation for the next debate ought to be different by focusing more on emotion, not just providing information. He said that we saw this strategy in Biden four years ago but not during the most recent presidential debate.

Clyburn’s endorsement of Biden’s campaign was considered a turning point for Biden’s 2020 campaign.

Clyburn continued to urge Biden to stay in the race but also stated that he would support Vice President Kamala Harris as a presidential candidate if Biden was unable to fill the office.