As the prospect of another Trump-Biden showdown in November looms, one Democratic congressman is challenging Joe Biden in the Democratic primary: Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota.
“As someone who deeply believes that we are a nation built on competition, not coronation, I felt compelled, in the absence of better-known candidates, to compete for the Democratic nomination against Joe Biden,” the 55-year-old said. The charge.
Phillips spoke to The Post from the campaign trail in New Hampshire, ahead of Tuesday’s Democratic primary election.
According to a poll by the American Research Group, he managed to obtain 32% of the support of likely Democratic voters in New Hampshire during ten weeks of campaigning.
But Phillips says the Democratic National Committee has been working to obstruct voting by changing the Democratic primary schedule and preventing delegates from New Hampshire from participating.
Asked if what the Democratic National Committee is doing is undemocratic, Phillips said, “Yes, by definition.”
Democratic Rep. and presidential candidate Dean Phillips says the Democratic National Committee is disenfranchising primary voters. REUTERS Phillips says it’s unclear whether Biden, who named Jaime Harrison as chairman of the Democratic National Committee (L), has been asked about changes to state primary processes. fake images
In fact, the New Hampshire Attorney General even sent a cease and desist letter to the Democratic National Committee, accusing them of illegal voter suppression.
Meanwhile, the Democratic National Committee also prevents the printing of ballots in Florida and North Carolina and declares that there will be no debates.
“I don’t know how to better articulate these efforts than, yeah, a threat to democracy by undermining it and suppressing it,” Phillips told The Post.
He said he doesn’t know if Biden is behind the Democratic National Committee’s recent actions: “I think President Biden has a responsibility to at least be asked about these things. “I haven’t seen any evidence that he was asked.”
The state of New Hampshire sent a cease and desist letter to the Democratic National Committee, accusing the group of illegal voter suppression. AP
However, he believes it is President Biden’s responsibility to do something about it.
“In the absence of a response, I have to hold him accountable because he is the president of the United States and the leader of the Democratic Party,” he stated.
“I believe that democracy dies in the absence of competition, and right now I fear we have two political parties that are actively working against the very foundations of democracy.”
Election results live from New Hampshire
Phillips, a businessman and co-owner of Talenti Gelato, has represented Minnesota’s 3rd Congressional District since 2019, when he unseated a four-term Republican incumbent.
But he says he found an “absolute, misdirected, dysfunctional disaster” at the Capitol.
Before entering politics in 2019, Phillips was a businessman and co-owner of Talenti Gelato. AP
“With the two parties moving further into the corners, it creates an opportunity for people with pragmatism and common sense to invite that exhausted majority to the table,” he said.
Phillips served as vice president of the Problem Solvers Caucus and was ranked the second most bipartisan member of Congress.
He said he intends to continue that record in the White House by engaging advisers on both sides while promoting affordable housing, Medicare for all and a child tax credit.
A recent poll found that Phillips had the support of 32% of New Hampshire’s likely Democratic voters. REUTERS
Despite championing progressive causes and cross-party cooperation, Phillips says challenging Biden has made him an enemy of the mainstream media.
He says his campaign has relied on alternative media platforms to get his message out after being blocked by MSNBC and CNN, which have not granted him an interview after providing a town hall for every Trump Republican candidate in the primary.
Instead, he’s been doing the podcast circuit, most recently speaking with Bari Weiss, Megyn Kelly, and Scott Galloway. And she has been gaining traction on X, with public expressions of support from Jordan Peterson and a live conversation with Elon Musk and Bill Ackman earlier this month.
Phillips will compete against Biden in the Democratic primary in New Hampshire on Tuesday. REUTERS
Phillips came under fire for replacing a reference to “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” with “Equity and Restorative Justice” after Ackman, a vocal critic of DEI, pledged to donate $1 million to the political PAC supporting his campaign.
Phillips’ campaign later defended the measure, saying that “DEI now means such divergent things to different people that it is no longer descriptive.
And, according to Phillips, that evasion extends to the Democratic Party itself.
Phillips says he would like to see America turn the page to the next generation of both Trump and Biden. AP
“Those who strive to have the audacity to practice democracy as I do are excommunicated,” he told The Post. “Therein lies the greatest risk to democracy: when people with different perspectives… go against their party, we now live in an era in which that is not only not welcome but results in banishment.”
Despite the efforts of the Democratic National Committee, New Hampshire is holding its primary as planned, where Phillips hopes to make a splash and show that incumbency does not guarantee victory.
“I think people are starting to recognize that right now we have two men who, for different reasons, are not acceptable candidates for the presidency of the United States,” the Minnesota representative said. “I would like to see us turn the page from Trump and Biden to the next generation.”
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Source: vtt.edu.vn