Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) went after Sen. Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.) after the senator said Sunday that he chose to leave the Democratic Party because the party had changed too much.
“This is not the Democratic Party of my father and that is a great thing,” Clyburn said in a CNN “State of the Union” interview with Jake Tapper, appearing directly after Manchin.
“I remember when my father got the right to vote, or cast an effective vote, here in South Carolina. It was not until 1948 that the Democratic Party opened itself up to African Americans,” he continued.
Manchin announced Sunday that he wants President Biden to leave the presidential campaign and “pass the torch,” while Clyburn stood by Biden and left the door open to back a new nominee should the president leave the race.
“Let’s go forward with these improvements that we’ve been making in this party, opening this party up to everybody and keep it open to everybody,” Clyburn said, advocating for unity in the party.
The veteran Biden ally also warned that if the party does not coalesce around a single nominee, Biden or otherwise, and quickly, it could spell disaster for Democrats.
“If you go to the convention, have an open process in the convention, It will come out the same way it came out in 1968, 1972 and 1980,” Clyburn said, referring to previous contested conventions where the Democratic nominee lost the general election.
“I support Joe Biden. He is still in this race. He will be the nominee if he stays in the race,” Clyburn continued. “And I think all of us should look for ways to coalesce around that candidate.”
Biden and his campaign have remained adamant that the president will be the Democratic nominee despite the rising calls for him to drop out.
“Joe Biden has made it more than clear: he’s in this race and he’s in it to win it. Moreover, he’s the presumptive nominee, there is no plan for an alternative nominee,” Dan Kanninen, Biden campaign battleground states director, wrote in a memo released after the Republican National Convention.