The appointment of a special counsel to oversee the probe into President Joe Biden’s scandal-drenched son could be an opening for other Democrats who may be mulling a primary challenge for the 2024 nomination, something that is fiercely resisted by the party establishment.
CNN’s Jake Tapper spoke with Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) who this week called for Democrats to “jump in” the race as alternatives to the deeply unpopular octogenarian who is dogged by allegations of bribery and corruption, pressing the leftist lawmaker over who he would like to see as potential alternatives to Biden.
“Democrats are telling me that they want, not a coronation, but they want a competition,” Philips previously said on a competing network, where he cited numbers from a New York Times poll showing most Democrats prefer a different candidate than the current president, raising the hackles of Biden backers.
On Friday’s edition of “The Lead,” the CNN anchor probed him for names of who he feels would be a viable alternative to Biden after the news of the special counsel to investigate Hunter Biden broke.
(Video: CNN)
“These numbers I shared earlier that are so horrendous and frightening were before the news of today,” Phillips told Tapper. “If anybody believes this doesn’t hurt, you must be living in a different world than I am.”
“And I’m simply calling attention to the facts, and I’m concerned about the Democratic establishment working much too hard to prevent any new entrance, to prevent competition, instead pursuing a coronation and frankly, we did something similar in 2008,” he continued. “And thank goodness, a first-term senator from the state of Illinois raised his hand, stood up, met the moment and we had Barack Obama become United States president. I just think that we should be mindful of history, recognize the consequences of not having a backup plan.”
“Because one of the core elements of successful leadership is a succession plan, being sure that there’s somebody able, ready to go,” he said. “And I’d like to see the president actually invite people to the primary stage…there are people ready to go, governors in particular, moderate governors in the heartland…”
“Who?” Tapper, a Biden loyalist asked, rudely interrupting the congressman.
“I tell you what, Jake, I’ve been someone who reaches out to people before I talk about them, and sadly, some have asked that I not even reference their names right now, which is a pretty good indicator of how this establishment blocks, prevents and silences people,” Phillips said, adding that he’s the only congressional Democrat who is “giving voice to the majority” of Dem voters who don’t want Biden to run again.
Tapper then asked whether he was referring to Michigan’s lockdown queen, Governor Gretchen Whitmer as a viable Biden alternative.
“I think there are about five names, everybody watching right now probably knows who they are,” replied Phillips. “They are on the bench, they’ve got organization, they have institutional support, they have access to the extraordinary amount of money and resources necessary to mount a credible primary campaign…”
Tapper cut him off again, “Everybody doesn’t know who they are.”
“I hate to be rude, but everybody doesn’t know who they are because, as you note, President Biden is basically only being challenged by anti-vaxxer Robert Kennedy Jr. and Marianne Williamson, maybe by you, although 60,000 Twitter followers and $250,000 in the bank doesn’t exactly sound like you want to enter the race,” he continued. “So, I’m discussing, Gavin Newsom, Gretchen Whitmer, Jared Polis, Pete Buttigieg,” he rattled off names, ticking them off on his fingers.
“You haven’t mentioned or alluded to Vice President Harris, but she certainly is a woman, and she’s next in line, do you want, do you want all of those individuals to enter the race?” Tapper asked.
“Jake, let me just say this,” Phillips replied. “Like I said, right now the only thing preventing three, four, five, six, eight of the names you just mentioned from appearing on that stage and making their case to Democratic voters, the only thing preventing that, is we have an incumbent president who essentially, with an institution around him, the establishment protecting those interests.”
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Chris Donaldson is an ordinary American who is concerned about rampant corruption as well as the ongoing attacks on our way of life by those who have contempt for our hard-earned freedoms. A Navy veteran, he has been a frequent contributor to conservative websites and resides in Florida.
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