Clay Aiken Drops ‘Leaky Boat’ Hillary Clinton, Endorses Joe Biden

Former American Idol contestant Clay Aiken is no longer supporting Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential bid.

The singer spoke to CNN Thursday, announcing he would be backing Vice President Joe Biden, should Biden choose to seek the Democratic Party’s nomination for a third time.

“To some extent, I kind of feel like Secretary Clinton is a leaky boat at this point and that concerns me as a Democrat,” Aiken told CNN.

Aiken lost his bid to represent North Carolina’s second congressional district in Nov. 2014. He supported Hillary in 2008, and again earlier this year, but now cites concerns over Clinton’s appeal to moderate voters.

“A lot of moderates have negative feelings towards her,” said Aiken.

“I’ll get on a leaky boat going in the right direction before I’ll get on a strong boat going in the wrong direction,” he said, “But I really want a strong boat next year on the Democratic side and I think Joe Biden is a better candidate.”

Aiken criticized Clinton for being “scripted” on Twitter, back in April:

.@HillaryClinton, I love you. But why are you the stiffest and most scripted looking person in this video? #loosenup http://t.co/7I4NsojHLn

— Clay Aiken (@clayaiken) April 12, 2015

Speaking of Biden’s tendency to gaffe, the singer said, ”I think there is something refreshing about it and I think people are starting to recognize that.”

Per Aiken, Biden’s, at times, questionable moments should be referred to as “moments of authenticity” and not gaffes, as voters tend to respond positively to them.

“If you look at the person who has said more things that would be considered gaffes than anybody else — Donald Trump — seriously, and he’s at the top of the pack,” he said.

Aiken was previously fired by Trump on NBC’s The Apprentice, but praised the New York billionaire as “authentic,” saying he likes Trump but also compared him to an uncle that, “damn, you wish they’d shut up.”

Watch Clay Aiken’s CNN interview in full here.