CHICAGO—Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) said he celebrated when President Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race on July 21.
Phillips, who briefly ran a long-shot campaign against Biden primarily questioning the candidate’s age and fitness for another term, said he was happy to see his “fundamental mission” was completed.
He said that, had Biden stayed in the race, the Democratic National Convention (DNC) could well be a “funeral” with the party’s candidate entering the home stretch of the presidential race as a clear underdog. Instead, he said, the Chicago event will be the “rebirth of a party.”
“My mission was to inspire the very energy that’s palpable in this building,” Phillips told The Epoch Times at the DNC on Aug. 20.
The Minnesota congressman said he ran his unsanctioned presidential bid primarily to call attention to what he thought was Biden’s inability to win the 2024 general election against his predecessor, former President Donald Trump. After weeks of pressure following a debate against Trump, Biden exited the race and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for the job.
“Do I wish it had been done in a way that would have promoted competition and inspired it? Of course. But I’m pleased that it happened,” Phillips said. “It doesn’t happen much in human history, where those that have great power electively forgo it, whether by pressure or by personal decisions.”
Despite his intent to upset the applecart, Phillips said he hasn’t been a pariah in Chicago so far.
“I have been greeted with a lot more hugs, high fives, and handshakes than I anticipated, which is heartwarming to know that there is still place in this party for dissent and to be welcomed back, even when having caused some disruption,” Phillips said.
Phillips still had some criticism for the Democratic Party, saying it has “not done a good job” of listening to everyday Americans that “deserve to be heard.”
He cheered fellow Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s selection as Harris’s running mate as a potential balm to the burn he said mainstream Democrats have given middle America.
“Walz, in particular, will add to her ticket and expand, perhaps, the electorate in her favor a little bit more than JD Vance will expand Donald Trump’s electorate,” Phillips said, referring to the Republican senator for Ohio-turned-running mate for Trump.
