Clyburn says Biden had ‘preparation overload’ for debate

Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.) acknowledged that President Biden had a rocky debate performance, saying that he had “preparation overload.”

Biden’s lackluster debate performance Thursday sparked concerns among Democrats about his ability to serve a second term in the White House. However, Clyburn shot down any suggestions that Biden should step down from the ticket, urging people to look at his administration’s record and not judge based on one night.

“Yes, it was a bad performance. I’ve been around these things. I’ve been a part of debate preparation before, and I know when I see what I call preparation overload. And that’s exactly what was going on,” Clyburn said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

“The other night, I saw Joe Biden reppin for words and phrases, and even numbers that he was loaded up with. The next day, he gets to North Carolina, he’s freewheeling, and he captivated the audience. And that’s what we should do,” he added.

He also said that preparation for the next debate should be “different.”

Clyburn suggested that Biden needs to prepare for the debate with “deflection” instead of just with information. He said Biden needs to prepare “the kinds of things that we did not see in Joe Biden the other night and saw it four years ago.”

He also said it is “very clear” that Biden should stay in the race, which echoed his previous comments last week where he said the president should “stay the course.” He also said last week he would support Vice President Harris taking over the top spot on the ticket if Biden “ain’t there.”