Dean Phillips 'tried to' oust Biden 'two years ago,' would do it 'a thousand times over' despite blowback

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Ex-Biden 2024 primary rival sounds off on Kamala Harris campaign

Rep. Dean Phillips discussed his primary effort against President Biden on the sidelines of the Democratic National Convention on Monday.

The lone House Democrat who challenged President Biden for the 2024 nomination said he has no regrets about sounding the alarm on his candidacy early – despite the blowback he’s received from members of his own party.

"You know, I never could have imagined it would have happened this way," Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., told Fox News Digital of Vice President Kamala Harris’ meteoric rise to the top of the ticket.

"Of course, I tried to do this almost two years ago. I ran for president nine months ago. And of course I would have liked to have seen him do this sooner. But the way it has transpired is beyond miraculous." 

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Rep. Dean Phillips told reporters he believes President Biden should've dropped out of the presidential race long before he did (Getty Images)

Phillips became a pariah within the Democratic Party for a time after he launched a longshot primary campaign against Biden late last year. He had argued for months beforehand that the 81-year-old president needed to pass the torch to a new generation of leaders.

It came at a heavy political cost for the Minnesota Democrat – in addition to facing blowback from fellow Democrats, Phillips also struggled to get his name on the primary ballot in states like Florida, North Carolina and Tennessee.

He ended up dropping his presidential campaign in early March, just over three months before Biden’s disastrous debate performance against former President Trump, which precipitated his eventual ouster.

"I knew it was going to be a tough journey," Phillips said. "Was it painful? Yeah. Was it difficult, and did I shed some tears, have some tough days? Of course. But I knew the principle mattered."

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Phillips said Harris' rise to the top of the ticket has been "miraculous" (Peter Zay/Anadolu via Getty Images)

"I knew it’d probably cost my career, probably cost some friendships, probably cost my standing in this party – and it did. But I’m celebrating today because the objective, at least half of it, has been achieved."

Phillips added that if Harris won in November, "it will all have been worthwhile and I would have done it a thousand times over."

He said "many" – but not all – of his relationships with the party have been mended since then.

"I’ve had a lot of wonderful reach outs and hugs and high-fives from a lot of interesting corners of the party," Phillips said.

"If people know that I was simply trying to be the Paul Revere, not the George Washington, I’d like to think history might treat that kindly."

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Biden ended his campaign roughly a month after his debate against former President Trump ( Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

He made the comments on the sidelines of the Democratic National Convention, where Biden is expected to take the stage as the main headliner on the first of four nights of programming leading up to Harris formally accepting the 2024 nomination.

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Asked by another reporter what he wanted to hear from Biden, Phillips said, "I’m not as concerned about what he says, what I’m concerned about is what we make him feel. Because he did a remarkable thing."

"It happened later than I would’ve liked, but he did it," Phillips said. "I want this room to erupt in gratitude and celebration, I really believe he deserves it."

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.