A Democrat from Minnesota hinted toward his own primary run against President Joe Biden while encouraging others to do the same.
Representative Dean Phillips was demure about his own run, an idea he has floated before, but didn’t hold back from calling out other Democrats to face incumbent Joe Biden.
“Anybody who wants to run — [Sen.] Joe Manchin, (D-W.Va.) Cornel West, any of the governors … in the primaries. That’s why we have the primaries, because that doesn’t undermine the likelihood of returning, in this case, a Democrat to the White House,” Phillips said to NBC’s Chuck Todd on “Meet The Press.”
He said most of the country is over Biden and wants to see someone else in 2024.
“I’m representing what I believe to be the majority of the country that wants to turn the page, tired of the meanness and fearmongering of Donald Trump,” Phillips said. “We’d like to see Joe Biden, a wonderful and remarkable man, pass the torch, cement this extraordinary light.”
He said he would rather see a moderate governor ““hopefully from the heartland, from one of the four states that Democrats will need.”
“I’m actively inviting, encouraging — to some degree, imploring — that people who are ready and know it’s probably time to do so, take the chance,” Phillips said.
Todd floated a few names which Phillips seemed amenable toward, mentioning Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, and Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers.
Philips also threw Illinois Governor JB Pritzker into the mix.
“Joe Biden right now is down 7 points in the four swing states [that] will decide the next election,” Phillips said. “He has historically low approval numbers, Chuck. About 55 percent of Democrats would like to see an alternative.”
Phillips pointed to Joe’s son, Hunter, as a probably negative impact on his image.
“This is the important part, it’s the image. It’s what news will do. We know what era we live in — in partisanship. It is the attachment to the president.”
