Dean Phillips has officially ended his presidential campaign and has spoken kindly of President Biden in support of him.
Representative Phillips posted:
In 2011, I hosted then-Vice President Biden at my home. The most notable thing about him was his empathy and kindness towards my daughters and the catering staff, with whom he sat down and had ice cream (surprise-surprise). His decency and wisdom were a rarity in politics then, and even more so today.
Over a decade later, the only thing that has changed is time, which slows all of us down a bit, including presidents.
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I ran for Congress in 2018 to resist Donald Trump, I got trapped in the Capitol in 2021 because of Donald Trump, and I ran for president in 2024 to resist Donald Trump again because Americans were demanding an alternative and democracy requires options.
But it’s clear that the alternative isn’t me. And it is clear that Joe Biden is OUR candidate and OUR opportunity to demonstrate what kind of country America is and intends to be.
To everyone who supported my efforts, thank you. We will continue the important work to ensure a more responsive, democratic, and generationally diverse political system. But today, in light of the harsh realities we face, I ask you to join me in mobilizing, energizing, and doing everything you can to help keep a man of honesty and integrity in the White House. That’s Joe Biden.
Let’s use invitation, not confrontation, to welcome Haley supporters, Trump supporters, and Uncommit supporters to achieve this goal. It is our calling, it is our legacy and it is our time. Forward with joy and patriotism!
I firmly believe that primary challenges strengthen incumbent presidents, but Congressman Phillips appears to have had confidence in polls that showed Democrats wanted an alternative to President Biden. In reality, Democratic primary voters were happy with Biden and showed their support in the polls.
Phillips’ statement was the opposite of what Nikki Haley said when she dropped out. Haley did not endorse Trump and made generalizations about unity.
Dean Philips sided with President Biden and reversed his criticism of Biden’s age.
It’s time for the Democratic Party to unite against Trump’s threat to democracy and move forward into November.
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Jason is the managing editor. He is also a member of the White House press pool and a congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a bachelor’s degree in political science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
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