Billionaire hedge-fund manager Bill Ackman is throwing his weight and $1 million of his dollars to We Deserve Better PAC to back long-shot Democrat presidential primary candidate Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn.
"On Tuesday, I am wiring $1 million to wedeserve.org, a political action committee that supports Dean's run," Ackman posted on X in a 2,176 character missive Saturday night. "This is by far the largest investment I have ever made in someone running for office, and I am making this investment at a high-risk, but critically important moment for his campaign.
"I am doing so because I believe that Dean Phillips would be a truly outstanding President of the United States, and I believe he has a credible path to winning the nomination despite what the oddsmakers may think."
Even Ackman admits Phillips is facing long odds against an incumbent president, who has not gotten challenged in any meaningful way in a presidential primary for reelection.
"Dean has gone from zero to 26% in the polls for the New Hampshire primary in a matter of weeks, and I expect him to climb further and faster from here over the next 10 days before the vote," Ackman wrote.
"If he is as successful as I expect he will be, it will put him on the map, give him the name recognition he needs for the primaries that follow, and enable him to attract the funds and visibility he will need to succeed."
Part of Ackman's gamble is not only on Biden's poor polling against Trump, but also on Biden's advanced age as the oldest president in history ever elected and to ever hold office, predicting the incumbent might ultimately bow out of his reelection campaign.
"Biden is polling poorly against @realDonaldTrump, and his numbers are only going to get worse as he ages, and he is not looking good as it is," Ackman continued. "There is also a reasonable chance that Biden is forced to withdraw for health reasons.
"As Dean rises in the polls and Biden deteriorates, the Democratic Party is going to have to choose a candidate that can beat the Republican nominee. If by then, as I expect, Dean is polling substantially better than Biden against Trump, I predict that the party will choose Dean Phillips over Biden. The party will have no choice."
It all starts with the New Hampshire primary, which is Tuesday, Jan. 23 – eight days after the Iowa GOP caucus.
"None of the above can happen unless Dean makes a very strong showing in New Hampshire, and that's why I am frontloading my investment in his campaign now, and why I encourage you to invest if you like what you have heard," Ackman continued. "Dean has meaningful skin in the game as he has invested $5 million of his own capital in his run.
"This is how democracy happens. It is tragedy if our only choices are Trump and Biden. It is up to us.
"Please take a hard look at Dean Phillips."
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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