Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) said Sunday he agrees with Michelle Obama that the country isn’t yet ready for a woman president, though he still plans to back female candidates.
He was responding to Kamala Harris’s claim in her book that sexism and racism contributed to her 2024 loss, as well as Lady Obama’s recent public remarks rejecting renewed speculation about a future presidential run.
“As we saw in this past election, sadly we ain’t ready,” the former first lady said at an event in New York. “That’s why I’m like, ‘Don’t even look at me about running because you all are lying. You’re not ready for a woman.’”
Clyburn — a strong backer of Harris’ presidential bid — said, “I understand exactly what Kamala Harris has said,” noting that he spoke with the former vice president last week.
“Michelle Obama is absolutely correct. If you look at the history, we demonstrated that we are not ready,” he said during an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press” with host Kristen Welker. “These are incredible women who have run — Hillary Clinton, Kamala Harris. And I think that we are getting there.”
Clyburn added he hopes for more women candidates to run and that he intends to support them despite disappointing results in recent presidential elections.
“Just because it doesn’t seem that we are ready doesn’t mean we should stop the pursuit. … And so 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,” Clyburn told Welker. “And in order for that to happen, they have got to run. So I want women to run. I’m going to support them.”
The Dennis Michael Lynch Podcast archive is available below, with the most recent on top. Never miss an episode. Subscribe to the show by downloading The DML News App or go to Apple Podcasts.
