Joe Biden’s struggling to crack the MAGA wall – that’s what US House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn has suggested. The South Carolina Democrat said that the former vice president is failing to make inroads with key supporters of President Donald Trump and warned that he must act fast to gain ground.
The Biden campaign has tried to persuade some Trump supporters to cast a ballot for the Democratic nominee, but Clyburn suggested that the overall effort has been ineffective and that Biden still has a lot of work to do to win over voters.
He noted that Biden needs to talk to certain constituents directly, because they are not accepting his message second-hand. “My take is that to many of these folks he still has not broken through,” Clyburn said in an interview with MSNBC.
He explained that many Trump supporters are willing to listen to Biden’s message, but the former vice president needs to communicate it to them directly and in ways that are meaningful to them.
Clyburn also highlighted the pressing need for Biden to engage with African-American voters, a constituency that carried President Obama to victory twice but has yet to fully embrace Biden in the same way.
Although Biden is faring well in the polls, Clyburn emphasized the importance of not taking it for granted and continuing to work hard until election day. He noted that if Biden is unsuccessful in connecting with Trump supporters, his lead will go out the window in just a few short weeks.
“I told the Biden campaign—I told him—we cannot take anything for granted,” Clyburn said. “If we do what we failed to do in 2016, again, it won’t turn out well. We have to break through this wall.”
It’s clear that Biden must act fast if he’s going to convince Trump supporters to cross over. His last chance to break through the MAGA wall comes down to bridging the gap and presenting his message directly to key constituents between now and November 3rd.