(NewsNation) — U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., who is challenging incumbent Joe Biden in the upcoming primaries, said he thinks former President Donald Trump will beat Biden in the 2024 presidential race.
“Donald Trump is going to beat Joe Biden. Most people know that,” Phillips told NewsNation host Dan Abrams.
Phillips says he’s running so there will be a Democratic candidate left to beat Trump.
“I think people who are not being alarmist about Donald Trump are delusional. That’s the whole reason I’m here today. That’s why I’m running for president,” Phillips said.
He continued: “It’s going to take some time for that delusion to pass, but I’ve not seen one shred of evidence, not one shred, that Joe Biden is positioned to beat Donald Trump.”
The three-time congressman believes Biden should leave the race and pass the torch to a new generation of leaders.
“If I were President Biden, and I cared about democracy, and I believe he does, he should do one of two things: Either thoughtfully exit the stage or invite other candidates to it,” Phillips said.
But Phillips maintains there’s an issue bigger than just Biden. He thinks Democrats are “trying to protect the status quo” by not encouraging competition to the president.
“The system is designed to prevent competition,” Phillips said. “Publicly, the Democratic party would like everybody to believe that we believe in debate, we believe in voter participation, and we believe in thoughtful candidate competition. But the truth is behind the scenes, every single one of those categories is suppressed.”
He thinks Democratic leaders should be encouraged to challenge Biden in a healthy way.
“Look at the Republicans. They’re all fighting for number two because there’s a good chance something happens to Donald Trump. Why are Democrats not doing that? Why are Democrats seeding hundreds of hours of primetime TV to the GOP right now? If we had a competition, we would be having debates,” Phillips said.
In the Democratic primary, Phillips currently faces Biden and author Marianne Williams. Phillips believes it’s “possible” Biden will end up dropping out of the race.
A new Gallup poll shows Biden with a 39% approval rating, which is the worst of any modern-day president seeking reelection.
While the congressman is trying to position himself as a Biden alternative, FiveThirtyEight’s vote tracker found Phillips has voted in line with Biden’s positions 100% of the time. When asked what he would do differently if elected, Phillips pointed to tackling issues like affordability, health care and the border crisis.
In previous interviews, Phillips insisted if his presidential run is not successful, he will wrap up his campaign and back the Democratic nominee.
