Dean Phillips Says He May Consider Third Party Options if Democrats Don’t Change

Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) claimed the Democratic Party had lost its way and said he might consider third party options if Democrats don’t attempt to broaden their coalition during a visit to Harvard’s campus on Monday.

“Now we no longer seem to be the party of the working person. We don’t seem to be the party of business,” Phillips said. “I don’t know what we stand for.”

Phillips, who challenged President Joe Biden in the 2024 Democratic primary, visited numerous HLS and HKS student groups on Monday afternoon. This comes nearly a week after President-elect Donald Trump decisively won both the popular vote and Electoral College.

Phillips attributed Trump’s success to the Republican party’s broad appeal, saying that “the MAGA movement is accepting anybody who wants to join them,” while “Democratic circles are pretty exclusive.”

“Parties no longer can be coalitions based on identities, period,” he said.

Nina Nedrebo, a member of the audience and student at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, agreed. She said she wondered what would have happened “if we had listened more to the working class and people who are truly underserved across the country.”

“Moving forward, how can we, within the Democratic Party, build a coalition to bring those needs to the surface?” she asked.

Phillips criticized the Democratic party for alienating voters by “making everyday Americans feel that they’re antisemitic, racist Nazis for simply not liking Democratic policies.”

In an interview after the event with The Crimson, Phillips said he “would consider” third party options if the Democratic party does not respect and invite everyday Americans back into their coalition.

“Over 50 percent of Americans do not affiliate with the two parties that are on the ballot every year,” he said. “If that's not enough of a message that something has to change, I don't know what is.”

Sahil Patel and Luke M. Pittman, co-presidents of HLS Democrats, had positive reviews of Phillips’ talk though they disagreed with his openness to a third party. Pittman said he “appreciated the sentiment” of the idea, but called it “a little out of touch.”

“They’re not going to be able to get any meaningful political power,” he said.

During the event, Phillips said he believed Democratic Party leaders intentionally hid the truth about President Biden’s “physical and communicative impairment”.

“What is a risk to democracy?” Phillips asked rhetorically. “January 6? Yes. What about taking people’s names off ballots? What about not having a single debate during the primaries because you’re trying to protect a president who’s clearly not up to it?”

Turning his attention to the Republicans, Phillips offered “a call to action” for his colleagues across the aisle to protect democracy from a President who is “liberated to do what he wants to do.”

“You have an historically important responsibility to hold this president accountable, regardless of his politics, and to put the Constitution first,” he said in the interview.

Despite the challenges of a second Trump presidency, Phillips said that last week’s election made him feel “optimistic,” as an example of the democratic system working.

“Time will tell what he does,” Phillips said. “But he was democratically elected in a landslide, and people voted, and there were no shenanigans, and we’re going to have a seamless transition and peaceful transition of power.”

“Somehow it's still working — as frustrating as it is,” he added.