Feb. 17 (UPI) — Democratic presidential candidate Dean Phillips said Saturday he is laying off a significant portion of his staff but vowed to continue running as speculation mounted he will drop out soon.
The longshot hopeful, a House member from Minnesota, said in a video posted on X that running as an insurgent in one’s own party makes it difficult to raise money and generate a platform.
“I found it almost impossible to raise enough to do this campaign the way I want. And today, sadly, I had to announce layoffs to a lot of my staff members,” Phillips said.
Phillips was adamant he would not give up despite failing to gain any traction in fundraising or polling since he announced his campaign in October. He was scheduled to appear in Michigan this weekend ahead of that state’s primary on Feb. 27, but a spokesperson for his campaign told Politico he has cancelled all upcoming travel.
In his X post, Phillips claimed 75% of Americans believe former President Donald Trump is too corrupt and President Joe Biden is too old.
Biden’s age has been a major point of emphasis in Phillips’ campaign. After an unflattering special counsel report which confirmed Biden had mishandled classified documents but characterized him as a “well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory,” Phillips defended the president but did not denounce concerns over his age.
“I respect him, but that’s the problem. And by the way, Donald Trump? Not that far behind him,” Phillips told Fox News.
Regardless of Biden’s age, Phillips is miles behind the Democratic incumbent. In last month’s New Hampshire primary, he lost to a write-in campaign on behalf of Biden by a 44-point margin.
In South Carolina, Biden won by 96%, washing Phillips who got less than 2%.