Minnesota Congressman Dean Phillips not only isn’t backing down from considering a run for president after a backlash from fellow Democrats, he says news of a special counsel being appointed to investigate the president’s son only makes his case stronger.

“There will be an investigation that will consume a lot of the airtime over the next number of months of the campaign,” Phillips told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS on Friday in an interview taped for “At Issue with Tom Hauser” for broadcast on Sunday. “I don’t think it reaches the president, but it will be front and center and yet another risk and that’s why I’m calling on Democrats who are better prepared to run than I am.”

If no other prominent Democrat does emerge, he will continue to consider running himself.

“I’ve not made a decision. I’ve been very forthright about that,” Phillips said. “I wish the lights were less on me and on my message.”

His message is that despite significant accomplishments in office since his election in 2020, Joe Biden is too old to run for and finish a second term.

“Actuarially, the president is a good man, but he’s an old man and these are just the truths and we should be wary of that risk,” Phillips says.

Phillips is also concerned about numbers in a recent New York Times/Siena Poll that indicates Biden’s approval rating is just 39%. It also shows 42% of Democrats say a different candidate should be nominated, including 80% of Democrats under age 30.

“The president I believe is a good man. He was the right person for the last four years,” Phillips said. “His accomplishments by most perspectives, historic perspectives, have been quite extraordinary. But the numbers for Democrats are horrifying.”

Phillips all but dismisses other Democrats, including Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and others, trying to discourage him from raising questions about President Biden and talking about a run for president.

“We have so many sheep running around the Congress, around statehouses, around this country so scared of their own shadows to speak the truth,” Phillips said. “And that’s what Americans are asking for. No matter their politics.”

You can see the entire interview with Congressman Phillips on “At Issue with Tom Hauser” at 10 a.m. Sunday.