Democratic presidential hopeful Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN) admitted Thursday that he was open to the idea of running for the White House on a unity ticket with Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley.
Phillips suggested that Haley, although unlikely to defeat former President Donald Trump for the Republican nomination, should contemplate a separate presidential run, with Phillips potentially serving as her vice president.
“Wouldn’t all your listeners be … compelled by maybe Nikki Haley and Dean Phillips getting together on a unity ticket and actually doing for the first time, perhaps in our country’s history, what most Americans really want, which is cooperation, collaboration, participation, decency, common sense, leadership?” Phillips told WCCO radio host Chad Hartman.
When pressed for clarification on whether he would be the vice presidential candidate, Phillips indicated that it would be a matter for discussion between himself and Haley.
“In the event of a Donald Trump victory this November, which is almost certain if [President] Joe Biden is the nominee, I think any American who opposes that should celebrate, encourage, and inspire an alternative that can actually win and lead our country in the way that people want,” Phillips said. “I think America would be very well served by some type of a bipartisan ticket that restores faith in government and most importantly demonstrates to the world, to the world, that America can work together and restore its extraordinary brand around the entire world.”
It remains unclear whether Phillips was suggesting a unity ticket through the third party No Labels, which has advocated for a bipartisan presidential ticket. No Labels stated it had not made any decisions regarding creating a unity ticket for the November election but had previously mentioned Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) as a potential contender. Manchin announced last week that he would not seek the Oval Office.
