Meet the Press: Presidential Candidate, Rep. Jim Clyburn

Interview

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Thank you very much for having me back.

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Well, I think the American people are focused more on style than substance. And that is the way it is in politics. Joe Biden is a man full of substance. The style is something you get from another candidate. You won't get it from him. He believes in the democracy. He believes in the American dream. And he does what he possibly can to help people fulfill that dream and maintain this democracy. And that is not the kind of stuff that you poll very well.

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I think he is the strongest candidate. And I believe very strongly that the American people believe that as well. When you are out this far, I remember back, what was it 2010, 2012? We got shellacked in 2010. And in 2012, all the polls I saw said Obama had no chance of getting reelected, that Democrats wanted an alternative to Obama. What happened in 2012 is now history. He won very comfortably. And I think the same thing will happen here.

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Absolutely.

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They will not stay at home. We understand what's at stake here. The problem with me is I spend too much time studying history. And I see what's going on here. I know where the playbook came from that resulted in January 6th. It came from the 1876 elections, almost exactly. Names and places, the same stage, alternative electors. They had a scheme put together with a playbook that came out with that election. Now that people are beginning to focus on that -- and let me say something else. I was in that hall last night. I've been around here all week with African Americans coming in from all over the country. If you think that he has lost 17% of support among African Americans, you just have another thing coming. He is not in any trouble with African Americans in this country, I guarantee you that.

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I see her as a part of that future, absolutely. I see her --

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Oh, she could very well be. I think she is running a very good campaign. Her speech last night was great. And I look to her as a successor to this president. But I also know the history of that as well. It's not a given. You don't automatically move up. She'll have to compete going forward with whoever may have dreams and aspirations. And I think she will equip herself well.

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Because when you compare the first woman of color and first woman to be vice president of the United States, and compare that to all of the history before, you will get that. I think that during this campaign, she will demonstrate, as she did in that hall last night, that she knows exactly what she's doing. She has the capacity and the capability to be president of the United States if called upon to do so.

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Well, we believe, we Democrats, believe very strongly that when you make a deal, you live by it. And the speaker made a deal to what the budget would look like. Democrats agreed to it. House Democrats, Democrats in the Senate, even Republicans in the Senate agreed to it. They have marked up to those top lines. And then all of a sudden, McCarthy seemed to be backing away from the deal because five or six people on his side of the aisle seemed to be calling the shots. The tail wagging the dog is not the way you do this.

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Well, Hakeem Jeffries is. He is a great leader, and I think he's doing exactly what needs to be done to keep the lines of communications open.

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It is not a foregone conclusion. And I don't think we'll get to that point. I certainly hope not.

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I'm leaving that up to Democrats in New Jersey. They have a Democratic governor.

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Yes.

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I don't think so. We have to compare apples to apples. And when you compare apples with apples, I don't think you compare a United States Senator to the president of the United States. That's a big, big difference.

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They are serious. And I read them. And I hope they are not true. I hope there's an explanation. He says there is. I would like to hear it. But I'm going to leave it up to him and his friends among

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Well you know, we all to some extent live so that our children can be proud of the name that we've given them. I have three daughters. And I want them to feel very comfortable being a Clyburn. And I do know that that is very, very important for going forward. Now, that doesn't mean that I want them to do things that are unseemly to the name. I do want them to use the name to their benefit.

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Well, his associates said there were pleasantries. But I think it's appropriate to be a father to your son. And if your son is having a problem -- and we all know the history of the problem that Hunter has with addiction. And he is being a father to his son. You don't impeach a man for being a father to his children.

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Thank you very much for having me.

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