Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., said anybody who wants to run to challenge President Biden for the 2024 Democratic primary nomination should “take the chance.”
Phillips told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday that he “adores” Biden but wants him to “pass the torch” to new leaders.
“I would like to see a moderate governor, hopefully from the heartland, from one of the four states that Democrats will need,” he said.
He continued, “Anybody who wants to run, 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. 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.”
Fox News’ Lisa Boothe argued Democrats would “love” to “get rid” of Biden but realize they would be “stuck” with Vice President Kamala Harris.
“I saw a recent poll where even 50% of Democrats wanted a different nominee in the 2024 election. I think I’ve seen the number as high as 75%, right? So they’d love to get rid of him, but then you’re stuck with Kamala Harris and so that presents an interesting scenario for them. How do you get rid of both of them? I mean, Kamala Harris is the least popular vice president in American history, even less popular than Dick Cheney after he shot someone. So that’s saying something [and] that’s the challenge for them,” she explained on “The Big Weekend Show.”
Boothe added that the Democratic Party doesn’t want to encourage a third-party run because it could cost them the 2024 election.
Co-host Joe Concha said it was a “fool’s errand” for a member of Biden’s party to try and challenge him for the nomination because the DNC already announced the president would not debate.
“Joe Biden can run, and Joe Biden can win. And I look at this New York Times focus group, and it was done by Kristen Soltis Anderson, [who] I think is quite good at what she does. And they took 12 Biden voters, and they asked all 12 of them, this is 2020 Biden voters. Do you think Joe Biden’s a strong leader? All 12 answered no. Do you think he’s disappointing as a president? All 12 answer yes. Do you think he should run in 2024? All 12 answer no. Who are you voting for in 2024? All 12 answer Joe Biden,” Concha highlighted.
“People vote against candidates these days, not for them. And that’s what I think the Democrats are banking,” he added.
Positive economic news hits the press, Americans not crediting Biden in pollsVideo
Donnia, a 62-year-old Independent from Illinois, told the Times that she didn’t vote for Biden. “I voted against Trump,” she said.
Claudia, a 28-year-old Independent from Florida, said she voted for Biden in 2020 because he was the “lesser of two evils.”
