Amid a wave of backlash against Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN) for removing language about diversity, equity, and inclusion from his campaign website, the Minnesota representative is turning the dispute on President Joe Biden.
The longshot Democratic candidate challenging Biden blasted the president’s campaign site for lacking a section related to “civil rights, voting rights, racial equity, or DEI.” The challenge came as Phillips faced accusations of altering his site in response to a hefty donation billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman made to a pro-Phillips super PAC this week.
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“JoeBiden.com has no issue section dedicated to civil rights, voting rights, racial equity, or DEI,” a spokesperson for Phillips’s campaign said in a statement to the Washington Examiner on Wednesday evening.
“In fact, he doesn’t have any issue sections, which is a sad metaphor for an incumbent with nothing to say, or as it relates to his lifelong record on racial justice and equity, may indicate an area he’s not too anxious to talk about it.”
Ackman threw his support behind Phillips on Saturday, pledging to donate $1 million on Tuesday to We Deserve Better, a super PAC aiding Phillips’s presidential bid — citing he’s already given the maximum $3,300 donation per election, per candidate, outlined by the Federal Election Commission for 2024.
“This is by far the largest investment I have ever made in someone running for office, and I am making this investment at a high risk, but critically important moment for his campaign,” Ackman said on X of his hefty donation for Phillips.
Ackman’s endorsement sparked heavy pushback among his followers, which top a million, since the billionaire is strongly opposed to DEI in universities and corporations. Users on X pointed to the DEI tab on Phillips’s campaign site in disapproval, to which Ackman said Phillips is “getting educated” on the matter.
“I believe @deanbphillips didn’t understand what DEI was when that was made part of his website. I made the same mistake,” Ackman wrote on Sunday. “He is getting educated as we speak. Let’s listen to what he has to say after he gets educated.”
On Tuesday, the “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” header was replaced with “Equity and Restorative Justice” under the “platform” section of the campaign website. The newly named tab contained the same language under its previous header, in which Phillips is described as an “ally” who “understands that in a country where all are created equal, disparities can only exist because our policies, systems, or structures have — intentionally or otherwise — propagated them.”
A wave of criticism fell on Phillips, questioning if the Democratic representative changed the header of his platform section to fall in line with Ackman’s beliefs, or in response to the donation to We Deserve Better — which is legally separate from Phillips’s campaign.
But Phillips defended the title change on Wednesday — in a statement to the Washington Examiner, a campaign spokesperson said while Phillips has invested $5 million into his challenge against Biden, “Bill Ackman – as with any other donor – can only donate $3300. Rep. Phillips is one of the only members of Congress who has never accepted PAC money or lobbyist money or had a leadership PAC. Rep. Phillips is unbought.”
Phillips, who is reportedly one of the wealthiest members of the House of Representatives, having founded Penny’s Coffee and serving as CEO of Phillips Distilling Company, argued the new header more accurately represents the issues he’s working to tackle.
“The problem is the incredible disparity that exists in terms of the racial wealth gap, the education gap, the homeownership gap, the opportunity gap, and the health gap. In other words, we have tons of work to do to repair the long tail of slavery and discrimination,” Phillips’s spokesperson told the Washington Examiner.
“That’s why we changed an accordion drop down description to zero in on the actual issues we are working to address – equity and restorative justice – and not the now-politicized, narrow term about HR practices, and to avoid creating unnecessary confusion about our commitment to addressing the much broader set of problems that have to be solved,” the spokesperson added, noting, “The current Dean24.com accordion drop down more closely parallels the long-standing heading there: Equity and Civil Rights.”
In a post on X, Ackman said he did not pressure Phillips to change the DEI tab on his site, adding the Minnesota congressman “did that on his own initiative and without any push from me.” Both Ackman and Phillips have urged a new generation of leadership to replace Biden, citing his age as a barrier.
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“I give Dean a lot of credit for being open to input from supporters on various issues. That said, based on what is still on his website, he still has much to learn about the problems with the DEI ideology and its impact on education, government and corporations,” Ackman added. As of Wednesday evening, the new section on Phillips’s website contained the same content as it held under the DEI title.
The Washington Examiner reached out to the Biden campaign for comment.
