Longtime U.S. Congressman Jim Clyburn, who is proclaimed a presidential kingmaker after singlehandedly saving Joe Biden‘s 2020 presidential campaign, said he agrees with former First Lady Michelle Obama’s assessment that the United States isn’t ready for a woman president after Kamala Harris‘s devastating loss in the 2024 presidential race.
“Well, history is prologued,” Clyburn told NBC’s “Meet the Press” host Kristen Welker. The 87-year-old South Carolina lawmaker said he understood Harris’s previously made point that racism and sexism played a role in her defeat to Donald Trump.
Clyburn said Mrs. Obama was “absolutely correct,” explaining, “If you look at the history, we demonstrated that we are not ready. These are incredible women who have run: Hillary Clinton, Kamala Harris.”
However, the U.S. representative said he does believe the country is inching closer to electing a woman president.
“I think that we are getting there. That’s why we can’t afford to turn the clock back. We’ve taken one, two, and three steps forward. Let’s not take two, three, and four steps backwards, which is what we’re doing in these elections,” he said.
Clyburn continued, “Just because it doesn’t seem that we are ready doesn’t mean we should stop the pursuit…we may be in a dark moment as it relates to women serving as president. But we may be in that moment just before dawn when a woman will serve. And in order for that to happen, they have got to run. So I want women to run. I’m going to support them.”
During a live chat with Tracee Ellis Ross last month, Obama said, “As you saw in this past election, sadly, we ain’t ready. That’s why I’m like, don’t even look at me about running because y’all are lying.”
She added, “You are not ready for a woman. You are not. So don’t waste my time. We got a lot of growing up to do. And there are still sadly a lot of men who do not feel like they can be led by a woman and we saw it.”
Democratic strategist Dallas Jones, who worked on the Biden 2020 presidential campaign, told theGrio that while the country is not ready for a woman president “in the aftermath of Kamala Harris,” he does believe the country “will elect a female president in the near future.”
“Donald Trump, for everything that people think about him negatively, in both of his elections, beat women candidates. I think that speaks volumes to America’s readiness,” said Jones, who is president and CEO of ELITE Change, a political and business consulting firm.
Jones said, despite Trump’s victory in last year’s election, he does believe Harris could’ve clinched the presidency if her 107-day campaign had more time.
“I believe if Kamala Harris had had more time, her own infrastructure, her own people. I think, I think we could have seen that, and would have seen a different result in that election,” he told theGrio.
