Ex-Rep. Dean Phillips says Democrats misled voters about Biden’s health, calling party actions dishonest and dangerous.

Phillips Alleges Party Misled Public About Biden’s Health

Former Democratic congressman Dean Phillips has publicly accused his party of concealing President Joe Biden’s cognitive decline, claiming the deception has severely damaged the Democratic Party’s integrity and electoral prospects. In a sharply worded op-ed for The Free Press, Phillips laid out his concerns and recounted personal experiences that left him convinced Biden was unfit for reelection.

Phillips, who briefly challenged Biden in the Democratic primary, wrote that he had witnessed the president’s “obvious decline in communication skills, gait, and leadership capacity” during multiple encounters, including two Air Force One flights and a 2022 White House holiday event. He stated that the president’s deterioration had become “too graphic to ignore.”

“My opinion wasn’t an outlier,” Phillips wrote. “My congressional colleagues, like me, had eyes; behind closed doors we acknowledged the reality.” He accused party leadership of knowingly allowing Biden to pursue a second term despite growing concerns within their ranks.

Party Resistance and Media Exclusion

Frustrated by the silence from prominent Democrats such as Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, and Gavin Newsom, Phillips decided to run himself, hoping to spark a primary debate. “I simply wanted Americans to see up close what I had seen and what the White House was trying to hide,” he said.

However, Phillips claimed his candidacy was immediately met with resistance. He said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries’ chief of staff told him he would no longer have communication with the White House after announcing his intentions. According to Phillips, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) worked to keep him off the ballot, prompting him to file multiple lawsuits.

“Almost immediately, the party mechanism was activated, and I became persona non grata,” Phillips said. He added that media organizations, particularly MSNBC—where former Biden staffers held influence—“deplatformed” him and his supporters, while party activists coordinated online attacks to discredit his campaign.

Phillips criticized what he described as a coordinated suppression of dissent, asserting, “This wasn’t a fight for democracy, rather a coordinated fight against democracy.” He alleged that Biden was shielded by advisors and family members who misled him into believing he was still the best candidate to face Donald Trump.

Calls for Accountability and Redemption

Reflecting on the 2024 election season, Phillips pointed to Biden’s performance in the June debate, calling it “an unmitigated disaster.” He said the president’s entire campaign collapsed under the weight of its own scripting and avoidance of public scrutiny.

Despite his criticisms, Phillips offered a path forward. “The first step is for everyone that was aware of Biden’s condition to come clean,” he urged. He warned party officials that continued evasion would only prolong the loss of public trust.

“Protecting a president or institution at the cost of its credibility is a shortsighted and losing proposition,” Phillips concluded. He called on Democrats to embrace transparency and restore confidence by facing the truth about the president’s condition and their own roles in concealing it.