Phillips Ends Challenge, Endorses Biden in Democrat Primary, but He Left a Troubling Receipt for Himself

After the returns came in for Super Tuesday, it was clear to most observers that the overwhelming results by former President Donald Trump would signal the end of the horse race aspect of the Republican presidential primary.

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But President Joe Biden also had a good showing, with victories in Democrat primary states mostly ranging between 80 and 90 percent of the votes. (The only major exception was American Samoa, where unknown Jason Palmer, handed Biden the first defeat in a presidential primary of a sitting president since 1980. Ouch.)

In challenger Rep. Dean Phillips' home state of Minnesota, Biden fared only slightly worse, with more candidates taking votes:

Joe Biden *
DEM 171,327
70.6%
UNCOMMITTED DEM 45,948
18.9%
Dean Phillips DEM 18,997
7.8%
Marianne Williamson DEM 3,489
1.4%

Jason Palmer even garnered about 800 votes (0.3 percent).

After the results were announced, the congressman wrote a few self-deprecating posts on X about how badly he lost:

Congratulations to Joe Biden, Uncommitted, Marianne Williamson, and Nikki Haley for demonstrating more appeal to Democratic Party loyalists than me.
— Dean Phillips (@deanbphillips) March 6, 2024

As an addendum, he wrote: "And Jason Palmer." At least he's still got his sense of humor.

As we've written before, Phillips had to battle to be allowed onto Democrat ballots in several states. He kept going, despite setbacks.

READ:

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Dean Phillips Won't Suspend Presidential Campaign Despite Mass Layoffs, Humiliating Defeats

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But he announced on Wednesday, on a Minnesota radio show, that he was pulling the plug on his bid--and endorsing Biden:

"I'm going to suspend my campaign and I will be, right now, endorsing President Biden because the choices are so clear," he said in a Minnesota radio interview on WCCO’s “The Chad Hartman Show.”
"The alternative, Donald Trump, is a very dangerous, dangerous man," he continued. "I would simply ask and invite and encourage Haley supporters, Trump supporters, uncommitted supporters to unify behind decency and integrity."
He said, "That means supporting Joe Biden, and I’m going to do that beginning right now," adding that he's going to "do everything humanly possible to ensure Joe Biden’s re-election this November because it’s that existential."

Phillips also shared more of his personal thoughts about Pres. Biden and the road ahead in an announcement on his X account, around the same time as the interview:

In 2011, I hosted then VP Biden at my home. Most notable was his empathy and kindness to my daughters and the catering staff, with whom he sat and had ice cream (surprise-surprise). His decency and wisdom were rarities in politics then, and even more so today.

Over a decade… pic.twitter.com/e3mGNU7u2C
— Dean Phillips (@deanbphillips) March 6, 2024

If you aren't able to read the post, it reads:

In 2011, I hosted then VP Biden at my home. Most notable was his empathy and kindness to my daughters and the catering staff, with whom he sat and had ice cream (surprise-surprise). His decency and wisdom were rarities in politics then, and even more so today.
Over a decade later, the only thing that has changed is time - which slows all of us down a bit, including presidents.
I ran for Congress in 2018 to resist Donald Trump, I was trapped in the Capitol in 2021 because of Donald Trump, and I ran for President in 2024 to resist Donald Trump again - because Americans were demanding an alternative, and democracy demands options.
But it is clear that alternative is not me. And it is clear that Joe Biden is OUR candidate and OUR opportunity to demonstrate what type of country America is and intends to be.
To all who supported my effort, thank you. We will continue the important work to ensure a more responsive, democratic, and generationally diverse political system. But today, in light of the stark reality we face, I ask you join me in mobilizing, energizing, and doing everything you can to help keep a man of decency and integrity in the White House. That's Joe Biden.
Let's lead with invitation, not confrontation, to welcome Haley supporters, Trump supporters, and Uncommitted supporters to get this done. It's our calling, it's our legacy, and it's our time. Onward with joy and patriotism.

But there's a problem. Phillips will have a hard time credibly pushing for Biden now, based on something he said in his intro video when entering the race. We often talk about having receipts to prove or disprove something someone's said. Well, in this case, he accidentally provided the receipt himself.

Watch:

If you’re asking “Dean Who?”, please allow me to introduce myself.pic.twitter.com/ipdBOb0MGh
— Dean Phillips (@deanbphillips) December 22, 2023

Much like former presidential candidate and U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley said about the presumptive Republican nominee many times, Phillips stated in his own words that Biden can't beat Trump in the general election. At :16 into the video, he says: