Democratic presidential candidate Dean Phillips slammed Joe Biden, saying he is showing “physical and communication decline” after the president stumbled through a speech at a brewery and put a helmet on backwards.
Congressman Phillips, a longshot candidate against the 81-year-old incumbent president, says the problems are “obvious” as concerns about Biden’s age loom over his re-election bid.
The Minnesota lawmaker’s comments came hours after Biden’s comments at a Wisconsin brewery, where he mixed up his words and called former President Donald Trump “professor” instead of “pastor” before correcting himself.
At one point he seemed to be talking nonsense.
He seemed to say, ‘The beer brewed here. It is used to make the brewed beer. During is defined, oh, Earth Rider. Thank you for the Great Lakes. I ask myself why.’
From Senator Amy Klobuchar’s Twitter account: President Joe Biden speaks about his plans for investing in America and bipartisan infrastructure at Earth Rider Brewery in Superior, Wisconsin, on January 25, 2024.
From Senator Amy Klobuchar’s Twitter account: President Joe Biden speaks about his plans for investing in America and bipartisan infrastructure at Earth Rider Brewery in Superior, Wisconsin, on January 25, 2024.
Democratic presidential candidate Rep. Dean Phillips believes President Joe Biden has shown ‘physical and communication decline’ after stumbling through new speech
Those were his words according to a speech transcriber, although some comments were unintelligible.
In addition, a photo published on Democratic Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s Twitter account showed the president in a bar with union workers.
He had put on a helmet, but was wearing it backwards.
Klobuchar was pictured drinking a beer with workers in yellow vests. Biden is a teetotaler.
‘I don’t see any cognitive decline. Of course we see the physical and communication decline,” Phillips told Fox News later Thursday night.
“I think that goes without saying with any video,” he added. But he didn’t think it was “fair” to suggest Biden was in cognitive decline.
‘He’s human. But he’s an 81-year-old man. He’s human. Donald Trump is 77,” the congressman said.
Phillips insists he still has “respect” for Biden but has the same concerns as many Americans and Democratic allies.
During his presidential campaign, Phillips made it clear that the country does not want either Trump or Biden on the ballot.
Phillips, a longshot candidate against the 81-year-old, says the issues are ‘obvious from any video’ as concerns about his age dominate fears about his re-election bid
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A poll released Thursday morning shows that 65 percent of Americans don’t want the rematch and that one in four voters are still unsure whether they would vote for either.
The brewery speech was the latest in a long line of blunders by Biden.
Last week he became “confused” when he claimed he had taken a photo with Democratic Rep. Deborah Ross even though she was not at the event.
“Where is Deborah,” Biden asked during the speech in North Carolina. “I just took a picture with her, that’s probably why she left,” he laughed.
“Oh, she couldn’t actually be here. That’s not true, I got confused… She’s in Washington right now,” he added when he realized his mistake.
The confusion brought back memories of 2022, when Biden asked “where’s Jackie” looking for the late Rep. Jackie Walorski, a month after her death.
Trump has also been attacked by rivals for recent missteps, including when he mixed up Nikki Haley and Nancy Pelosi during his campaign in New Hampshire last week.
The Minnesota lawmaker’s comments came hours after Biden’s comments, in which he mixed up his words and called former President Donald Trump a “professor” rather than a predecessor before correcting himself.
Phillips came second behind Biden in the New Hampshire primary last week.
Biden stormed to victory even though he was not on the ballot, thanks to a write-in campaign.
Phillips ended the evening with 21 percent of the vote and vowed to stay in the race as he addressed a cheering crowd gathered at Manchester’s Millyard Museum.
“Joe Biden is a good man. He’s a nice man. Yeah, he’s everybody,” Phillips said, when a supporter shouted that wasn’t the case.
“He’s our president. But I have to tell you, everyone, he can’t win. The polls say he can’t win, his approval ratings say he can’t win.”
Phillips added, “As an unknown congressman from Minnesota, I was just able to capture 21 percent.
“So I’m here to say, are you ready to keep this baby going?”