Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) said Sunday she didn’t know what stances Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN) is campaigning on for the presidency in 2024 that are different than those of President Joe Biden, whom she reiterated her support for.
“My colleague Dean Philips — everyone’s got the right to run — but I’m sorry, I have no idea what he is running on that is different from what President Biden is running on,” she said on NBC’s Meet the Press.
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Phillips launched his Democratic primary challenge to Biden last week in New Hampshire, where he filed for candidacy in its primary election. The announcement came as no surprise to many, as Phillips had been previewing a potential bid if others did not step up.
The Minnesota Democrat has previously pointed to Biden’s relative unpopularity across the country, calling on him to “pass the torch.”
According to Jayapal, Phillips “took the same bold stances that President Biden has taken in this country on domestic issues, and I really don’t see what he’s doing.”
But, she added, “That’s not the point for me. The point is I want President Biden to be the next president.”
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Jayapal then called on Biden to bring Democrats to a “higher moral place” regarding the war between Israel and Hamas, specifically referring to Biden’s stance on the war, which she said could cost him votes in 2024.
“The American people are actually quite far away from where the president and even Congress, the majority of Congress, has been on Israel and Gaza. They support the right for Israel to defend itself, to exist, but they do not support a war crime exchanged for another war crime. And I think the president has to be careful about that,” the congresswoman explained.
