Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN) said he wouldn’t back President Joe Biden for a reelection bid in 2024, making him one of the first sitting Democratic members of Congress to say directly that he wouldn’t back a second term for the president.
Phillips’s refusal to support the incumbent breaks from most of his Democratic counterparts, who have either publicly backed a second term for Biden or have declined to say whether they want him to seek reelection amid cratering poll numbers.
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“I have respect for Joe Biden. I think he has, despite some mistakes and missteps, despite his age, I think he’s a man of decency, of good principle, of compassion, of empathy, and of strength. But to answer your question directly, which I know is quite rare, no, I don’t,” Phillips told WCCO on Thursday.
Instead, the Minnesota Democrat said the party should look to a “new generation of leadership” and elevate younger candidates to Congress.
“Joe Biden has served our country admirably, with principle and with decency at a time when we surely needed it,” he said. “But I’m part of a caucus here in Congress where our three top leaders are over 80 years old, where the president will be over 80 at the next election. And I think it’s time for a generational change. I’m not shy to say that. I do believe most of my colleagues feel the same way.”
Although he has not announced a reelection bid, Biden plans to run again in 2024 if he remains in good health, according to White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. His ambitions have been met with murmurings about whether Democrats will support the 79-year-old president amid concerns about his age and electability in a possible rematch with former President Donald Trump.
High-profile lawmakers such as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) have publicly thrown their support behind the president, saying they would back him if he chose to run again. Others aren’t as sure, such as firebrand Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), who declined to say whether she would support him again, and still others, such as Steve Simeonidis, a Democratic National Committee member from Miami, have called on Biden to “announce his intent not to seek reelection.”
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While most presidents in recent years have earned reelection, Biden’s flagging approval numbers and advanced age are seen as liabilities for Democrats in what is widely expected to be an uphill battle to maintain control of Congress after the midterm elections.
Though some have expressed concern about how Biden would fare against Trump, who was the first president denied a second term in the 21st century, Biden said he’d welcome the rematch, pledging he’d run in 2024 — “especially” if Trump entered the race.
