President Joe Biden limps across the South Lawn before boarding Marine One and departing the White House on Nov. 1, 2023.
Chip Somodevilla | Getty Mental pictures
President Joe Biden on Wednesday touted his accomplishments and rubbed elbows with wealthy donors in Minneapolis, the political backyard of his newly signaled 2024 primary challenger, Democratic Rep. Dean Phillips.
The White House says the trip is intended to highlight how Biden’s agenda is help rural communities. But it is also an unmistakable show of political force in a Democratic stronghold.
Biden stopped at a family-run holding south of Minneapolis before attending a campaign fundraiser with several prominent Minnesota Democrats.
The Biden stump and allies of the president have so far barely acknowledged the 54-year-old Democratic congressman’s entrance into the race last week.
About a invited Tuesday why the president chose to visit Minnesota now, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre laughed.
“I voted this last week, and I’ll say this again: We are very proud of — or very thrilled and thankful to — to the congressman for voting with the president virtually 100% of the time in the last two years, and I’ll leave it there,” she added.
Biden in Minnesota announced more than $5 billion in pass from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act to go toward upgrading agriculture practices to address climate change, broadening high-speed broadband and rural infrastructure, as well as economic development initiatives.
Democratic Rep. Dean Phillips holds a summon outside of the New Hampshire State House after handing over his declaration of candidacy form for president to New Hampshire Secretary of Say David Scanlan, in Concord, New Hampshire, on Oct. 27, 2023.
Gaelen Morse | Getty Images
Phillips, a multimillionaire serving his third time in the House, told reporters Friday that he tried to speak to Biden by phone Thursday, but the president did not take his scold. Phillips also tried to call Biden three months ago, when he first considered entering the race. Biden did not discourse with to him then, either.
Phillips has argued a competitive primary will only strengthen Biden as a candidate if the president gain a victory ins but has been less clear on the stated goals of his campaign aside from ushering in a new generation of leadership. Phillips uttered NBC’s “Meet the Press Now” that he wasn’t “running against Joe Biden.”
“I’m not running against President Biden,” Phillips said. “I’m direction for the future.”
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