Talk of primary challenges to President Joe Biden brought one Democratic Party leader to step down from his role over “unnecessary distractions.”
Though widely disregarded by their own party, for months Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Marianne Williamson have engaged in bids against the incumbent for the 2024 presidential nomination. Now, after Kennedy teased a Philadelphia speech rumored to be the launch of a third-party run, Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips set the stage for his own potential entry into the field.
On Sunday, the co-chair of the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee (DPCC) announced that he would be stepping down from that leadership position over his “incongruent” take on the 2024 race.
“My convictions relative to the 2024 presidential race are incongruent with the majority of my caucus,” the 54-year-old third-term lawmaker said in a statement first reported by Axios, “and I felt it appropriate to step aside from elected leadership to avoid unnecessary distractions during a critical time for our country.”
Phillips included a positive message about House Minority Leader New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries with the announcement that maintained his position in the Democratic Caucus. “I celebrate Leader Jeffries for his remarkable and principled leadership and extend gratitude to my outstanding friends and colleagues for having created space and place for my perspectives. I’ll continue to abide by my convictions, place people over politics, and support our shared mission to deliver security, opportunity, and prosperity for all Americans. Onward!”
The Minnesota legislator has been among a select few Democrats outspoken throughout the cycle on someone, if not himself, launching a primary challenge to Biden and for his party to take the process seriously. In August, after previously calling out the “establishment” for working “too hard to prevent any new entrance,” Phillips spoke on “Meet the Press” where he offered up some alternative considerations.
“I would like to see a moderate governor, hopefully from the heartland, from one of the four states that Democrats will need,” he told NBC’s Chuck Todd. His list included Govs. Tony Evers (Wisc.), J.B. Pritzker (Ill.), Tim Walz (Minn.) and Gretchen Whitmer (Mich.)
Dem rep encourages Biden challengers: ‘I would like to see a moderate governor’ https://t.co/8edlQJqMfo pic.twitter.com/TrG7uBpG1S
— BPR (@BIZPACReview) August 23, 2023
“Anybody who wants to run, [West Virginia Sen.] Joe Manchin, Cornel West…that’s why we have primaries because that doesn’t undermine the likelihood of returning, in this case, a Democrat to the White House,” he argued. “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.”
Among Phillips’ stated concerns with Biden’s re-election campaign was the nearly 81-year-old president’s advanced age, a position voiced by a majority of voters from across the political landscape.
While the Minnesota lawmaker presented his position as a matter of principle, reactions from social media detractors slammed the congressman for not falling in lockstep with the Democrats.
“You are a disgrace. Wasting time on your narcissistic agenda to raise your profile when democracy is literally on the ballot,” expressed one. “Real Americans with real problems don’t have time for your distractions and media tour. Enough.”
You are a disgrace. Wasting time on your narcissistic agenda to raise your profile when democracy is literally on the ballot. Real Americans with real problems don’t have time for your distractions and media tour. Enough.
— Kaivan Shroff (@KaivanShroff) October 1, 2023
If you are not 100% behind Biden in 2024 then you are helping Trump
— Woke Mobster Heather (@twilover76) October 1, 2023
Explain where your convictions differ with that of the DPCC and the Dem Caucus.
— Mueller, She Wrote (@MuellerSheWrote) October 1, 2023
IMO, this isn’t about you challenging Biden so much as it is that you clearly don’t realize the risk in what you were suggesting… nor did you provide any logical alternative.
We’ve too much at stake to suffer or to even entertain your inability to understand the obvious.
— Renee (@PettyLupone) October 1, 2023
Axios indicated that Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Jake Auchincloss, known for providing entry to the Capitol to a film crew from Stephen Colbert’s “Late Show,” was eyeing a run to replace Phillips as DPCC co-chair.
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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