Representative James Clyburn (D-S.C.), who is a close ally of former President Biden, stated that he has never been concerned about Biden’s capability to lead, despite recent audio recordings and forthcoming books that raise questions about Biden’s cognitive state.
“I’ve interacted with Biden quite frequently,” Clyburn shared during an interview with Jake Tupper from CNN’s “Union Status.” “I talk to him regularly over the phone, and I haven’t noticed anything that seemed out of the ordinary.”
Tupper, who co-authored the book “Original Sin,” provides new perspectives related to Biden’s inauguration, but Clyburn has disputed some of the concerns that Tupper mentioned, which were voiced by advisors ahead of Biden’s rap in memory.
“I haven’t encountered anything that raised red flags for me,” Clyburn insisted. “I never saw anything that suggested Joe Biden couldn’t fulfill his responsibilities.”
On Friday, Axios published audio from a 2023 meeting involving Biden and special advisor Robert Huar, where Robert Herr was looking into the handling of Biden during the presidential election. The recording revealed Biden struggling with questions about the documentation and remembering key dates.
Clyburn did express a degree of “concern” regarding Biden’s performance during his only debate with former President Trump last year.
“Many of us felt somewhat uneasy about his preparation for that debate,” he noted. “I referred to it as a ‘preparation overload,’ since they were cramming everything in at the last minute, preparing for several days before the debate.”
“The real question is whether this is a broader issue or just a one-time event,” Clyburn added. “While these concerns exist, we never believed there was anything that suggested a long-term condition.”
