CBS correspondent Robert Costa revealed that Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., despite early support for the president, did not immediately green light President Biden for re-election in 2024 during his monitoring of the midterm elections Tuesday night.
Many have speculated that Republicans will retake the House after the 2022 midterm elections, which could put the Democratic agenda in jeopardy for the rest of Biden’s term.
Depending on the results, Costa revealed that Clyburn hesitated to support Biden in the next presidential election.
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"He says tonight, his entire party is at a crossroads tonight should the GOP win the House. I asked him tonight, should President Biden run into 2024. He said, 'I'm not going to say whether anybody should run in 2024.' I said, ‘Will you run for the House leadership again should the leadership lose?’ He said it all depends on what happens tonight. There is a lot of talk behind the scenes about what this means for the Democratic Party," Costa recounted.
Democratic U.S. Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina, running for re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives in the 2022 U.S. midterm elections, speaks during a signing ceremony where President Joe Biden signed "The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022" into law in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, U.S. August 16, 2022. (Reuters)
He added, "Usually, the second guessing starts in the rank and file and works its way up to the leadership. This is second guessing starting within the leadership."
Though Clyburn did not elaborate to Costa on Democratic plans should they lose the House, Costa said the majority whip acknowledged weakness in their messaging.
"They are very worried that their voters are not turning out, the core voters are not turning out. He says the party is not clicking on messaging. He believes that President Biden, when it comes to the Rescue Plan and other policies, has the right policy agenda, but he doesn’t believe it’s breaking through to the voters," Costa said.
Elsewhere, Costa updated an additional response from Clyburn as more election results started to be reported.
CBS correspondent Robert Costa discussed Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., during the midterm elections. (CBS)
"I just got off the phone with Jim Clyburn and he said if Republicans keep making gains across the map tonight in places like Texas, he said the Democrats need a real good assessment of their message of their leadership, about why they're falling flat," Costa said.
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On Twitter, Costa elaborated on Clyburn’s opinion of Biden, revealing that he considers Biden a weak speaker.
"I want these discussions to deal with who has what capacity to do what... speechmaking is an art, an art that Barack Obama has, and Joe Biden does not have. And what’s interesting about that, is the fact that I think that Joe is just the greatest guy in the world on policy," Costa quoted.
Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden looks on as U.S. Rep. and House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-SC) announces his endorsement for Biden at Trident Technical College February 26, 2020, in North Charleston, South Carolina. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
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Many polls leading up to the elections have found Republicans taking back the House, with some speculating that they could also take back the Senate.
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