Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN) is asked about GOP megadonor Harlan Crow contributing to his congressional campaign in 2019.

Minnesota representative Dean Phillips, a Democrat, has filed to run in New Hampshire’s Democratic primary, officially kicking off his campaign challenging President Biden as the Democrats’ 2024 presidential candidate.

He was asked by a reporter about a $2,800 donation, which is the maximum allowable, by Harlan Crow, a real-estate developer and GOP mega-donor under scrutiny for offering favors and gifts to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

Phillips said that he didn’t recall ever meeting Crow, and he would not “opine on him” because he’s had “thousands and thousands of people contribute” to his campaign.

He went on to say that campaign finance is “the root of all political evil in this country right now,” and that his colleagues have staffs that spend “10,000 hours per week raising money” for their campaigns.

When asked if the donation from Crow was unsolicited or solicited, Phillips did not directly answer but just said, “who in their right mind in America right now would want to do this? What would our founders think?”