Jim Clyburn 'riding with Biden' amid growing calls to drop out; but would endorse Harris

Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., was an influential force leading to President Joe Biden's 2020 success. The congressman said today he is still "all in" on the president.

"I'm riding with Biden," Clyburn told NBC Friday morning.

On the heels of Biden's highly-anticipated press conference Thursday, additional Democrats have publicly called for the commander-in-chief to drop his bid for reelection. Clyburn pushed back, saying the doubts and debate should end.

"... Let Joe Biden continue to make his own decisions about his future. He's earned that right, and I am going to give him that much respect," Clyburn said.

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Biden had multiple stumbles Thursday, including mistakenly referring to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as "President Putin." In response to these gaffes, Clyburn pointed to Biden's history with a stutter.

"Those of us who are real close watchers of Joe Biden, we do know that he sometimes mangled words and phrases," Clyburn told NBC. "But all of that is almost natural for people who grew up stuttering, and they do focus a little more and when you focus a little more you tend to lose the flow."

"But he has one of the best minds that I've ever been around," the congressman continued. "And so I would hope that we would focus on the substance of this man rather than these sometimes misspoken words and phrases."

Should Biden make the choice to step away from the race, Clyburn said there was "no question" Vice President Kamala Harris would have his endorsement.

"Absolutely," he said. "No question about that."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jim Clyburn defends President Biden, decision to stay in 2024 election