Minnesota Democratic Representative Dean Phillips looked miserable Tuesday when no voters showed up to his outdoor coffee hour in New Hampshire’s largest city to hear why he’s running against President Biden.
Phillips, who polls show is Biden’s most serious challenger in the Jan. 23 Democratic primary, was pictured sitting alone with a box of Dunkin’ coffee on the bumper of his Government Repair Truck outside the DoubleTree hotel in Manchester.
When he realized that no one was coming — exactly two weeks before voting day — Phillips told the assembled reporters that “sometimes if you build it, they won’t come,” CBS News reporter Jake Rosen posted on X.
Phillips spokeswoman Katie Dolan told The Post that with temperatures in the low 20s, it was too cold to hold the event outside and added that few people showed up when the congressman moved indoors.
“We met with voters this morning — just indoors instead of outdoors,” Dolan said, giving The Post a photo of the congressman with 14 people, some of whom appeared to be of voting age.
Democratic Representative Dean Phillips is booed by voters during a coffee break outside his home in Manchester, New Hampshire, January 9, 2024. REUTERS/Brian Snyder
“Sometimes if you build it, they won’t come,” Dean Phillips told reporters outside the Manchester DoubleTree hotel this morning, after no voters turned up for a “Government Repair Truck Coffee Talk” event in 22-degree weather. pic.twitter.com/x0lpVcRSnb
— jake rosen (@JakeMRosen) January 9, 2024
Some people came to see Phillips when he moved his coffee clock indoors, but few seemed old enough to vote. Dean Phillips campaign
Adding insult to injury, however, is the fact that Phillips’ event is intended to draw an on-site built-in audience from the 2024 New England College Convention currently taking place at the hotel.
The convention brings young people “from across the country” in touch with the presidential primary experience and features “visits from presidential candidates and campaign staff, members of the media and political experts,” according to the Eventbrite registration page.
Phillips, 54, launched his long-term campaign in late October, arguing that Biden, 81, was too old and would lose his re-election bid to former President Donald Trump.
A spokesperson for Phillips told The Post that people did not attend the event because of the low temperatures outside. REUTERS/Brian Snyder
New Hampshire initially looked like Phillips’ time to shine — because Biden technically won’t be on the ballot because of his unsuccessful effort to strip the Granite State of preference in favor of South Carolina, where voters revived the 2020 Biden campaign.
Biden is still running a write-in campaign in New Hampshire and national Democrats are scrambling to raise awareness of that fact to avoid an upset for the president, who finished fifth in the state’s 2020 primary with just 8.4% support.
Other candidates include “Tiger King” star Joe Exotic, a self-identified “gay redneck with a mullet,” who campaigned from prison to “Make America Exotic Again” as he appeals a 21-year sentence for a murder-for-hire plot and abuse animals.
Phillips launches its long-term campaign in October 2023. REUTERS/Reba Saldanha
There are 20 candidates in addition to Phillips on the primary ballot, including spiritual advisor and self-help author Marianne Williamson and satirist Vermin Supreme, who campaigned on the message that all politicians are rats so voters should support the biggest.
Biden has maintained a large lead in New Hampshire polls, with Phillips and Williamson generally enjoying single-digit support, though recent polls have pegged Phillips at 21%.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
