GET CLEAN FOR DEAN — Rep. DEAN PHILLIPS, a House Democrat who made a fortune selling liquor and gelato and is now serving his third term representing the Minneapolis suburbs, is challenging JOE BIDEN for the Democratic presidential nomination. “I am announcing today my candidacy for the presidency of the United States of America,” Phillips will say in New Hampshire, according to prepared remarks obtained by Playbook. “The America I love and the America WE love. The America that has provided millions of us with refuge, with liberty, and with opportunity, but is yet to fulfill its great promise to far too many.” Phillips, who has been a strong supporter of Biden and his agenda, will nod to the fact that they agree on many issues, but will argue that Biden can’t win a general election and that the Democratic Party deserves generational change at the top. “I am running for the Democratic nomination … not in opposition to our current president, who has my appreciation and gratitude, rather with two core convictions,” he will say: “(1) I am a Democratic candidate who can win the 2024 general election. (2) And it’s time for the torch to be passed to a new generation of American leaders.” Despite the light touch on attacking Biden — at least today — Phillips will emphasize a few issues where his campaign believes the incumbent president is vulnerable: high federal deficits, slow wage growth, inflation, tax rates that are too low for corporations and the wealthy, gun violence and spiraling healthcare costs. Phillips is a centrist former CEO, one of the wealthiest members of Congress, represents a swing district and is an active member of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus. But his nascent presidential campaign is tinged with populist messaging around the issues of economics, immigration, and foreign policy. WHERE HE’LL DING BIDEN: In what may be the most intriguing portion of his remarks today, Phillips will emphasize three issues where many Democrats have been reluctant to criticize the president: border security, crime, and the high cost of defense spending. “Chaos at our border and in our cities is growing, while our commitment to countering it is receding,” Phillips will say in remarks that are at odds with many Democrats, who have been loath to campaign against the spike in border crossings and urban crime lest they sound DONALD TRUMP-ian. “We fund more for fighting than we do for feeding,” Phillips will say, adding “We’ve spent billions sending our soldiers to fight in foreign lands and STILL haven’t fixed the failures in Flint.” Though Biden withdrew troops from Afghanistan and has not committed American troops to the defense of Ukraine and Israel — the two most expensive foreign policy projects of his presidency — Phillips, whose father died in Vietnam when he was a baby, is leaning into populist antiwar sentiment that continues to ripple through the American electorate. “And WE, the new generation, will rise — not through war but through peace — and not just here but throughout the world,” he will say. In other places, Philips seems keen on attracting the broad middle of an electorate that has consistently told pollsters it is uninterested in a Biden-Trump rematch. Phillips refers to himself as part of “America’s exhausted majority” that his campaign will organize to “stand in the way of extremists who are hijacking America and large swaths of the world.” Phillips nods to the fact that he’s wealthy when discussing how taxes are too low, but the source of his wealth may be a campaign issue for him. He notes that “diseases of despair are claiming our children through addiction and suicide,” a point that will likely raise questions about the candidate’s background in the liquor business. A heavy media rollout masterminded by former JOHN McCAIN strategist STEVE SCHMIDT will launch Phillips today. A profile in The Atlantic is set to appear this morning. CBS News’ Robert Costa interviewed Phillips yesterday. A steady stream of interviews from big-name TV and print reporters will roll out through the weekend. BETTING BIG ON NEW HAMPSHIRE: Phillips will attempt to resurrect the prominence of New Hampshire after Biden attempted to end its reign as the first in the nation primary by pushing South Carolina to the front of the line. However, New Hampshire is statutorily required to hold its contest first. (No official date has been set.) If New Hampshire disobeys the DNC, the committee says New Hampshire’s delegates won’t count at the convention. “Among you, the great people of the State of New Hampshire, who have been the first to vet presidential candidates for over one hundred years and whose motto ‘Live Free or Die’ speaks for all of America,” Phillips will declare. “I invite you to join me in declaring a NEW AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE — not from another nation or people — rather from fear and from the status quo.” In an announcement video slated to air in New Hampshire, Phillips plays up his personal history with the state. “I'm coming to New Hampshire to answer your questions,” he says. “I love New Hampshire. I spent my summers as a kid in the White Mountains going to camp. Got to canoe the Saco River, learn how to fish, learn how to shoot a gun. Got to climb the Presidential Range, including Mount Washington. And it's also where I learned to love my country. And that's why I'm back as a candidate for president in the place where we begin.” Watch the ad here THE PUSHBACK: Phillips has missed the filing deadline for the February 6th Nevada primary, and by privileging New Hampshire he may face a backlash from Black and Hispanic Democrats who have long complained that New Hampshire’s overwhelmingly white electorate made it a poor choice to kick off the presidential primaries. Rep. BENNIE THOMPSON (D-Miss.) told ABC News that Phillips’ New Hampshire launch was “divisive and it's disrespectful to a large population and support base for the Democratic Party." Biden came in fifth place in New Hampshire in 2020. He won the South Carolina primary. Last night, reaction from Biden world was relatively muted. One source played down the Phillips news. “Lots of luck in your senior year!” the source said, quoting a famous Bidenism. The White House took a subtle dig at their new opponent and sought to emphasize that Phillips has a long record of supporting the president. “Based on the Hatch Act, we don’t discuss elections — not presidential primaries, nor primaries in Minnesota’s 3rd congressional district,” White House spokesman ANDREW BATES told Playbook, referring to the fact that Phillips has recently attracted a primary challenger back home. “Separately, when it comes to President Biden’s official work, the administration appreciates that Congressman Phillips has voted for nearly 100% of the President’s legislative agenda.” Expect to hear a lot in the coming days about Phillips turning from a Biden stan to a Biden critic. “He came to the White House this summer … to bowl with the Problem Solvers in the EEOB,” one source familiar with the White House bowling schedule told Playbook. The Daily Beast reports out a 2021 trip on Air Force One where Phillips was reportedly aggressively snapping selfies with Biden. It’s unclear why these pro-Biden episodes will matter. SENECA, the great Roman philosopher of Stoicism, once noted, “I actually make a practice of going over to the enemy’s camp — by way of reconnaissance, not as a deserter!” For Phillips, it may have been a bit of both. Related read: “Inside Dean Phillips’ longshot presidential campaign,” by Elena Schneider Happy Friday. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line and tell us whether you like liquor or gelato best: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza.
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