- George W. Bush said Representative James Clyburn was a “savior” for his role in resurrecting Joe Biden’s campaign.
- Clyburn conveyed Bush’s rare comments to reporters on a conference call.
- Biden’s primary campaign in 2020 was in vital support when Clyburn endorsed him.
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Former President George W. Bush told Democratic House Majority Leader Jim Clyburn, a Democrat from South Carolina, that he was a “savior” for supporting President Joe Biden at a critical juncture during the 2020 Democratic presidential primaries. and help ensure your victory, Clyburn told reporters.
Bush told Clyburn during the inauguration ceremony on Wednesday that Biden was the only Democrat capable of defeating former President Donald Trump.
“George Bush said to me today, ‘You know, you’re the savior because if you hadn’t named Joe Biden, we wouldn’t have this transfer of power today,'” Clyburn told reporters during a conference call on Wednesday.
The congressman added: “He told me, ‘Joe Biden was the only one who could have defeated the incumbent president.'”
In late February 2020, Clyburn’s endorsement effectively revived the campaign in Biden’s Democratic primaries.
Going to the South Carolina primaries, Biden was coming off successive humiliations in Iowa and New Hampshire, where he was unable to finish in the top three – usually a death sentence for most presidential campaigns, given the slim chance of even competing. by indicating beyond that point.
However, with Clyburn gaining substantial credibility with older black voters in the state of Palmetto over the decades, his endorsement turned out to be the catalyst for Biden’s recovery. The president ended up beating South Carolina with a landslide victory and quickly consolidated his support after following with a stellar performance on Super Tuesday, proving that he had the greatest support of blacks in the primary and thus surpassing Bernie Sanders among the rest of the electorate.
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Bush’s comments were not characteristic, given his generally low profile since he left the White House and avoided partisanship.
Bush’s chief of staff, Freddy Ford, tried to downplay the former president’s comments, tweeting, “We are not going to turn this into more than it really is. He was saying that Clyburn helped save Biden’s appointment … nothing biblical here.”
Trump has long criticized Bush and repeatedly condemned some of his actions as president, including his wars in the Middle East. Bush did not campaign for Trump and did not support his Republican colleague’s reelection candidacy. Bush reportedly responded to Trump’s inaugural speech by saying, “That was a strange thing.”
But the 43rd president has maintained a remarkably low profile since he stepped down in 2009, occasionally issuing public statements at significant times of national anguish, including, most recently, condemning the insurrection by a pro-Trump crowd on Capitol Hill.