Democratic Representative Dean Phillips, who ran an unsuccessful presidential campaign against President Bidenhe defended his decision to oppose the leadership of his party in a recent interview despite criticism.
Phillips announced in 2023 that he would not seek re-election in 2024. The decision came after he mounted a long-running primary challenge against Biden. Although his campaign was unsuccessful, the Minnesota congressman used his media interviews shedding light on his concerns about Biden's age.
“We're completely leadershipless. We're rudderless,” Phillips said interview with Politico.
Democratic Representative Dean Phillips, who ran a failed presidential campaign against President Biden, defended his decision to oppose his party's leadership. (Mel Musto/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“If what I'm hearing now is any evidence, it's not very satisfying,” Phillips said. “I felt validated the day I announced my campaign,front of which I knew that this was not an opinion. This was the truth. The truth is, he wasn't in a position to win. The truth was his approval numbers were historically low. His decline was real. and the only evidence I cared about was my own, and I'm sorry if I had been proven I would have sold that charge to succeed, and that's why I'm so I am completely disappointed many of my colleagues and our party.”
Phillips briefly joined the Democratic Party after launching a long-running campaign against Biden late last year. He had argued for months before the 81-year-old president there is a need to pass the torch to a new generation of leaders.
Phillips told Politico that after President Donald Trump's victory over Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic Party needs “a complete overhaul.”
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Phillips said that Biden's “decline” was real and should not be ignored by the Democratic Party. (Chip Somodevilla)
“A party that has too many silos and campaign committees and outside groups can't do their job properly, and that means leadership,” Phillips said.
“And in my presidential campaign, I regret that I was not able to present a platform to wake people up from this nightmare that we were sleeping in,” he said.
Fox News' Paul Steinhauser, Elizabeth Elkind and Matteo Cina contributed to this report.