As dangerous as he sees former President Donald Trump, Democratic presidential candidate Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) says it would be more dangerous for America to allow courts to remove President Trump from state primary ballots.
“I think [President Trump] should be facing voters as the judge and jury because if not, I’m very concerned about America’s future because I think violence will ensue,” he said during a debate with rival Marianne Williamson that was hosted by the New England College in Henniker, New Hampshire, on Monday.
The Minnesota congressman was referring to the recent agreement by the Supreme Court to review the argument that President Trump is not eligible to run for president again because he allegedly violated the Constitution by inciting an insurrection to block the 2020 election.
In borrowing what other Democrats have said about President Trump, Mr. Phillips also called President Joe Biden a “risk to democracy” and warned supporting him will ensure another Trump presidency.
“Joe Biden is a risk to democracy because he is knowingly going into an election in which his approval numbers and his poll numbers make it almost impossible for him to win,” said Mr. Phillips, before repeating twice, “He’s going to lose.”
Mr. Phillips, who is the grandson of Dear Abby columnist Abigail Van Buren, blasted President Biden for not joining them in the debate, or in any national debates, and for not being on the New Hampshire primary ballot.
“Joe Biden should have been right here with us. He is taking the Granite State for granted. He is taking this election for granted and he is taking every single one of you and this entire country for granted,” he said.
While President Biden is not on the New Hampshire ballot, the entire New Hampshire Democratic Caucus has rallied behind a write-in campaign in the Live Free or Die state in an attempt to ensure he'll clinch the state’s critical Democratic Party nomination.
On Jan. 5, members of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) sent a letter to New Hampshire Democrats asking them to promote the state’s Jan. 23 primary as “non-binding” and that Democratic presidential candidates should not participate in it.
New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella sent a cease and desist letter in response, demanding the DNC stop promoting the New Hampshire primary as “meaningless” and declaring the statements as “false, deceptive, and misleading.”
Warnings to Democrats
Ms. Williamson has also issued her own warnings to Democrats.“The danger for Democrats is not people voting for Donald Trump. He could be indicted 91 more times; they’re going to vote for Donald Trump,” she said. “The danger is people staying home. The danger is if the Democratic Party does not become once again unequivocal advocates for the working people of the United States.”
She promised an “economic U-turn” if elected.
Ms. Williamson, who has been campaigning since last March, is polling between 5 and 12 percent behind President Biden, which is a similar spread to that between President Trump and most of his GOP rivals.
Mr. Phillips, called a longshot candidate by both parties, entered the race late, declaring only at the end of October. He missed the deadline to file for some state primaries including North Carolina where President Biden is the only Democratic candidate on the ballot.
However, despite the kickoff of the primary season being just two weeks ago, some think Mr. Phillips could still prove to be an upset to President Biden.
Former state House Speaker Steve Shurtleff recently told Politico that he believes Mr. Phillips only needs “around 40 percent” to succeed in doing so. As for President Biden, he said, “If the president fell below 60 percent, then he’s in serious trouble.”
For the start of his candidacy, Mr. Phillips has run on the platform that it is time for a younger leadership to take over the presidency.
Mr. Phillips, at 54 to President Biden’s 81, is the fourth youngest candidate running for the White House.
Among GOP candidates, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is the third youngest at 51, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is the second youngest at 45, and 38-year-old Vivek Ramaswamy is the youngest.
Without supporting a party alternative to President Biden, Mr. Phillips warned Democratic voters that if President Trump is disqualified in running, they will likely end up with Ms. Haley as president, pointing out that polls have her beating President Biden by as much as 17 percent in the general election.
While nationally President Trump is crushing Ms. Haley, in the key state of New Hampshire he holds less than a 20 percent lead over the former U.N. ambassador.
During Monday’s debate, Mr. Phillips frequently also spoke about the Israel–Hamas conflict, tying his presidency into the war by saying, “We need new leaders from the West Bank to the West Wing.”
He was specifically critical of President Biden for not doing more for the eight American hostages still being held by the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.
“Every morning and every night the United States president should be referring to the eight Americans being held by this terrorist organization,” he said, vowing that as president he would sign documents that recognized a Palestinian state.
In laying out what their own unique brand would bring to the presidency, Ms. Williamson, author of a New York Times best seller who served as a spiritual leader for Church of Today and appeared frequently on the Oprah Winfrey show, said she would establish both peace and military academies to strengthen America’s ability to keep war at bay globally.
Mr. Phillips said he would call for an ivy league excise tax to help young Americans pay for college, noting that the top 15 endowments of U.S. universities totals $326 billion.
