Phelan was "deeply antisemitic," harboring a lifelong bigotry against Jewish people.

He lamented the 1916 United States presidential election on the grounds that "both candidates were England-lovers and Jew sympathizers."

Phelan was close friends with Massachusetts Governor and Senator David Ignatius Walsh.

Near the end of his life representative Phelan was a frequent reader of the periodical Social Justice, published by antisemitic priest Charles Coughlin.

This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress