Clay Aiken switches support from Clinton to Biden

Singer Clay Aiken is no longer supporting Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton in 2016.

Aiken announced Thursday that he plans on backing Vice President Joe Biden, if he chooses to run.

{mosads}“To some extent, I kind of feel like Secretary Clinton is a leaky boat at this point and that concerns me as a Democrat,” he said, according to CNN.

“I’ll get in a leaky boat going in the right direction before I’ll get on a strong boat going in the wrong direction,” the former “American Idol” contestant said. “But I really want a strong boat next year on the Democratic side, and I think Joe Biden is a better candidate.”

Aiken said that he has “nothing but respect” for Clinton but worries than non-Democratic voters do not feel the same way.

“A lot of [moderates] have negative feelings towards [her],” said the singer, who unsuccessfully ran as a Democrat in North Carolina’s 2nd District in 2014.

Aiken said he has no concerns over Biden’s tendency towards public gaffes.

“[They are] moments of authenticity,” he said. “I think there is something refreshing about it and I think people are starting to recognize that.”

Aiken argued that GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump is proof White House hopefuls can be both outspoken and successful.

“He’s at the top of the pack,” Aiken said. “I don’t think gaffes are a liability. I don’t think they should be called gaffes.”

He then defended the real estate tycoon from his critics — even though he noted disagreements over politics.

“I’m a friend of his [and] I like him as a person,” he said of Trump. “He’s a good guy, and I certainly think people are mistaken if they don’t take him seriously. We see that in the poll numbers.”

“[Trump is] like that uncle who embarrasses the hell out of you sometimes and you still love them, but damn, you wished they’d shut up,’” joked Aiken, who placed second in Trump’s reality television competition “The Apprentice” in 2012.

Biden is seriously considering a Oval Office bid amid falling support for Clinton’s campaign across national polls.

The vice president is reportedly meeting with his family this weekend to discuss the decision.

Clinton, meanwhile, is battling controversy over her use of a private email server as secretary of State. Critics charge the device avoided accountability and jeopardized sensitive national intelligence.