All posts tagged "pete buttigieg"

Into the lion's den: Pete Buttigieg goes head-to-head with MAGA darling

Pete Buttigieg, who served as Secretary of Transportation under Joe Biden, had some advice for Democratic Party leaders before the 2026 midterms.

Buttigieg appeared on comedian Andrew Schulz's "Flagrant" podcast — known for its part in the pro-Trump manosphere — where he called out Republicans for not having any answers to some of the most pressing issues of our time.

In a promo for the podcast on X, Schulz described Buttigieg as the "future president."

"They don't have an answer. Their answer is, 'burn it all down,'" Buttigieg told Schulz. "If we haven't solved poverty, their answer is to slash Medicaid, which is what the Republican budget moving through Congress right now will do is slash Medicaid."

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Buttigieg continued, "Medicaid may not be perfect...I know for a fact many issues come up in the way it's administered, the way people have access to it. But I also know for a fact that if your answer to that is just to cut out a bunch of poor people — or VA, like any veteran can tell you the horror stories of all the times things didn't go right in dealing with the VA.

"But, if you think the answer is to just cut it, or just privatize it, that's not an answer. We can do better than that. And I think my party's job is to make clear what that looks like and how we would do it better."

Buttigieg also posted an article to his Substack titled, "Why I Sat Down for a Two-Hour Podcast That Recently Hosted Trump," concluding that "going everywhere means seeking out audiences that may have never heard our message at all."

Some on the left took issue with Buttigieg appearing for an hours-long interview with a pro-MAGA host, but Democratic strategist Mike Nellis posted that Dems could learn a thing or two from Buttigieg's efforts.

"Anybody mad about Pete Buttigieg going on Andrew Schulz's podcast is not serious about winning elections," Nellis wrote. "You have to meet people where they are—not expect them to come to you. The question you should be asking is why your favorite Democrat isn't going into the lion's den and defending our values?"

Watch the Flagrant podcast with Pete Buttigieg here.

'At least Mike Pence was polite': Buttigieg pokes J.D. Vance over and over at DNC

Pete Buttigieg relentlessly mocked Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. J.D. Vance during his opening remarks at the Democratic National Convention.

Buttigieg kicked off his speech, themed on "the right kind of politics" by poking Vance over having the opposite.

After introducing himself with "you may know me from Fox News," Buttigieg laid into Vance.

"Don't even get me started on [Donald Trump's] new running mate," Buttigieg said, to a chorus of boos. "At least Mike Pence was polite."

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After a smattering of laughs, Buttigieg said Vance looks like one of those guys who thinks if "you don't live the life he has in mind for you, then you don't count."

"Someone who said if you don't have kids, you don't have 'physical commitment to the future of this country,'" said Buttigieg, to more boos. "You know, senator, when I deployed to Afghanistan, I didn't have kids then. Many of the men and women who went outside the wire didn't have kids either. But let me tell you: Our commitment to the country was pretty damn physical."

The dig brought the audience to its feet, as Buttigieg kept on the offense.

"Choosing a guy like J.D. Vance to be America's next vice president sends a message: and the message is they are doubling down on negativity and grievance. Committing to a concept of campaigning best summed up in one word: darkness. Darkness is what they are selling."

America, he said, is "not in the market for darkness."

Watch the clip below or at this link.

Tim Walz 'brought that joy immediately!' Pete Buttigieg gushes over Harris' running mate

Tim Walz, the newly minted Democratic vice presidential candidate, found himself with a big fan Tuesday night — fellow "veepstakes" contender and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

Buttigieg gushed over Walz in an interview with MSNBC host Jen Psaki on "Alex Wagner Tonight."

"I'm really excited," said Buttigieg. "Like you said, she had so many great directions she could go in. She also has found an extraordinary partner who has brought that joy immediately to the campaign trail."

Buttigieg emphasized that Walz can help the campaign deliver a message of unity.

ALSO READ: Tim Walz's personal finances are extraordinarily boring — and that may help Harris

"I think [it] sets up this ticket and this campaign even more than was already true to be about all of us," he said. "That's what I'm really excited about."

Americans can tell Walz is about cultivating and supporting other people, as evidenced by his experience in teaching, coaching and serving as a senior non-commissioned officer.

"I think it's one of the reasons why the Trump campaign can't figure out what to do with this ticket, even moreso today than what's been true ever since she became the nominee " he said, taking a shot at Harris' GOP rival. "They cannot fathom a campaign or any leaders who are not about themselves."

Watch the clip below or at this link.

Harris set to name V.P. pick ahead of swing state tour

Kamala Harris will name her running mate as soon as Monday, as she prepares for a tour of US battleground states aimed at turning excitement over her presidential bid into durable support that can power her to victory.

All paths to the White House run through a handful of swing states, and Harris will kick off her five-day run Tuesday in the largest — Pennsylvania — as she builds momentum for her showdown with Republican Donald Trump on November 5.

“At this moment, we face a choice between two visions for our nation: one focused on the future and the other on the past… This campaign is about people coming together, fueled by love of country, to fight for the best of who we are,” she posted on X.

Fresh from winning enough delegate votes to secure the Democratic nomination, the country’s first female, Black and South Asian vice president heads into the national convention in Chicago in two weeks in total control of her party.

In a campaign that is barely two weeks old, the 59-year-old former prosecutor has obliterated fundraising records, attracted huge crowds and dominated social media on her way to erasing the polling leads Trump had built before President Joe Biden quit the race.

Next on the agenda is a vice presidential pick, with an announcement expected any time before her rally Tuesday evening alongside the mystery nominee in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania’s largest city.

The Keystone State is the most prized real estate among the closely fought battlegrounds that decide the Electoral College system.

It is part of the “blue wall” that carried Biden to the White House in 2020, alongside Michigan and Wisconsin — two states where Harris is due to woo crowds on Wednesday.

Pennsylvania is governed by 51-year-old Democrat Josh Shapiro, a frontrunner in the so-called “veepstakes” shortlist that also includes fellow state governors Tim Walz and Andy Beshear, as well as Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona and U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

‘Freedom’

Later in the week, Harris will tour the more racially diverse Sun Belt and southern states of Arizona, Nevada, Georgia and North Carolina, as she seeks to shore up the Black and Hispanic vote that had been peeling away from the Democrats.

Just a month ago, Trump was in cruise control, having opened a significant lead in swing state polling after a dismal debate performance by Biden, with the Republican tycoon keeping the country in suspense over his own vice-presidential pick.

Trump’s White House bid was upended on July 21 when 81-year-old Biden, facing growing concerns about his age and lagging polling numbers, exited the race and backed Harris.

Energetic and two decades younger than 78-year-old Trump, the vice president has made a fast start, raising $310 million in July, according to her campaign — more than double Trump’s haul.

While Biden made high-minded appeals for a return to civility and the preservation of democracy, Harris has focused on the future, making voters’ hard-fought “freedom” the touchstone of her campaign.

She and her allies have also been more aggressive than the Biden camp — mocking Trump for reneging on his commitment to a September 10 debate and characterizing the convicted felon as an elderly crook and “weird.”

While she has disavowed some of the leftist positions she took during her ill-fated 2020 primary campaign, Harris hasn’t given a wide-ranging interview since jumping into the race, and rally-goers will look for more detail on her plans for the country.

Meanwhile Trump and his Republicans have struggled to adapt to their new adversary or hone their attacks against Harris — at first messaging that she was dangerously liberal on immigration and crime, before suggesting she was lying about being Black.

Trump 'will get crazier' as his lead evaporates — and do anything for attention: Buttigieg

Former President Donald Trump is only going to turn up the insanity the more he perceives he's losing his lead in the election, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said on MSNBC Wednesday evening.

This comes after Trump held an explosive question-and-answer session with the National Association of Black Journalists, where he caused an uproar by proclaiming that Vice President Kamala Harris only recently decided she was Black.

This, warned Buttigieg, is only the beginning.

"When you look at the state of the race today ... what do you think Trump's going to do next?" asked "Deadline: White House" anchor Nicolle Wallace. "Because he's — when he's desperate, and make no mistake, this, for him, candidacy is about staying out of jail. I mean, he's as desperate to win the presidency as Putin is to have him there, because for him, it's about Ukraine. I mean, what would you sort of warn your party and the pro-democracy coalition to be prepared for from Trump?"

Buttigieg had a simple response: "I think precisely because it's going so well for Kamala Harris out of the gate, I expect that Trump and his Republican Party will get crazier ... the more she pulls ahead, the more you're going to see I think Trump revert to the only thing he knows how to do when he wants to get attention, which is get more and more outrageous."

For the last several months, Trump has had a small but clear and durable lead in the national contest, with President Joe Biden mired in disapproval over questions about his fitness to run a campaign and serve another term — concerns which came to a head within his own party after a disastrous debate performance in June.

His exit, however, appears to have reset the race, with recent polling showing a close contest and Harris pulling even or ahead in many key battleground states.

Watch the video below or at the link here.

What history says about V.P. picks: senator, governor or wild card?

We know this much: Vice President Kamala Harris will pick her running mate before accepting her party’s presidential nomination in August at the Democratic National Convention.

Harris also has a short list of about a dozen potential candidates she’s vetting, according to CBS News.

So should she choose a U.S. senator, governor, U.S. House representative — or someone else?

Let’s examine the historical record to see which type of vice presidential candidates have helped — or hurt — a presidential ticket.

Since 1945, presidential candidates have made 31 vice presidential picks — not counting vice presidential renominations.

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Of these 31 picks, 19 most recently served in elected office as U.S. senators, four were governors and seven had prior electoral experience only from the House of Representatives, such as Dick Cheney and George H. W. Bush. One did not have experience in any of those offices.

Of their 18 vice presidential selections, Democrats have chosen a U.S. senator in 16 cases since 1945. The Republicans are a little more diverse in their selections, with four U.S. Senate picks — including Donald Trump’s selection of J. D. Vance — four gubernatorial picks and six selections from the House of Representatives.

There’s the adage that a vice president can only hurt you, and he or she can’t help you. Gov. Nelson Rockefeller, who Gerald Ford selected when he replaced President Richard Nixon as president, was not renominated by Ford when he unsuccessfully ran for his own term in 1976 — not that it mattered much in the end.

Historical evidence indicates that the prior job of the running mate makes little difference in victory or defeat — if he or she is a senator or governor. U.S. senators nominated for vice president have won nine times and lost eight times. Governors as vice presidential nominees are split, winning twice and losing twice.

But those without gubernatorial or senatorial experience fare poorly. Picking a candidate from the House of Representatives has only been successful two times in seven tries.

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The one candidate without experience as a governor, senator or representative, Sargent Shriver, lost in 1972 as Democrat George McGovern’s ticket partner.

Republicans picked Vance, and their record with U.S. Senate vice presidential nominees is pretty good: two wins (Richard Nixon and Dan Quayle) and one loss (Bob Dole).

Democrats, however, have seven wins with U.S. senators (Kamala Harris, Joe Biden, Al Gore, Walter Mondale, Hubert Humphrey, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Alben Barkley) against seven losses (Tim Kaine, John Edwards, Joe Lieberman, Lloyd Bentsen, Edwin Muskie, Estes Kefauver and John Sparkman).

Republicans are the only ones since World War II who have picked a governor as a running mate. Two (Mike Pence, Spiro Agnew) won, while two (Sarah Palin and Earl Warren) lost.

U.S. House representatives have largely failed for both parties, with the GOP picking two winners (George H. W. Bush and Dick Cheney) and four losers (Paul Ryan, Jack Kemp, Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., and Bill Miller). Democrats picked one (Geraldine Ferraro) and she lost.

It should also be noted that Bush — UN ambassador, CIA director — and Cheney — secretary of defense, CEO of Halliburton — both had extensive experience in other realms between their stints as House members and selections as vice presidential candidates.

Trump has already made his pick. What should Harris do?

It’s a flip of a coin based on the historical record, so long as she doesn’t pick a U.S. House member.

At present, senators and governors top her shortlist, including Harris can choose North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Illinois Gov. J. B. Pritzker, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, California Gov. Gavin Newsom or even Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. Some new names include Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, as CBS reports.

Given that the record shows all things are equal in vice presidential picks, it is probably best to select a running mate from a state that will help you. That would put those candidates from swing states, such as Kelly (Arizona), Shapiro (Pennsylvania), Whitmer (Michigan) and even perhaps Cooper (North Carolina), at the top of the list.

Had Gore picked popular Florida U.S. senator and former Gov. Bob Graham for his VP, he would have very likely won the 2000 election, given Florida’s overriding significance in that race. Taking a running mate from Connecticut in 2000 — Joe Lieberman — made little difference.

Ford might have done better in 1976 with a Texan such as George H. W. Bush instead of a Kansan in Dole, given that Ford lost the Lone Star State to Democrat Jimmy Carter.

For John McCain in 2008, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge would have been a far better choice than Palin, of then-deep red Alaska. McCain lost the Keystone State (and some Obama-backing moderates).

In a close presidential race, particularly now, vice presidential candidates from swing states may matter more, regardless of prior office experience.

John A. Tures is a professor of political science at LaGrange College in LaGrange, Georgia. His views are his own. He can be reached at jtures@lagrange.edu. His “X” account is JohnTures2.

Buttigieg smacks down GOP attorney general who said lead pipe poisoning is 'speculative'

Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, a Republican, took to X on Friday and raised eyebrows with an impassioned attack on federal programs to remove lead pipes.

"Biden wants to replace lead pipes," wrote Kobach, referencing a line from President Joe Biden's State of the Union Address. "He failed to mention that the unfunded mandate sets an almost impossible timeline, will cost billions, infringe on the rights of the States and their residents — all for benefits that may be entirely speculative."

Lead is a powerful neurotoxin that for much of the 20th century was used extensively in plumbing, gasoline, and paint. Experts now believe there is no safe exposure level for lead, and that it particularly harms children.

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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg had some choice words in response to Kobach's defense of leaving lead pipes in place.

"The benefit of *not being lead poisoned* is not speculative. It is enormous," wrote Buttigieg. "And because lead poisoning leads to irreversible cognitive harm, massive economic loss, and even higher crime rates, this work represents one of the best returns on public investment ever observed."

Kobach, a hard-right Trump loyalist, previously served as Kansas' Secretary of State, where he launched nationwide crusades to purge voter rolls in the name of hunting for fraud. He later ran unsuccessfully for governor before being elected attorney general of the state.

'He seems fixated on it': Pete Buttigieg on Speaker Johnson's comments about gays

Pete Buttigieg and homosexuality are living rent-free in House Speaker Mike Johnson's head.

The newly minted House Speaker Johnson from Louisiana who took over the reins after his predecessor Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) was ousted is credited with penning the foreword of author Scott McKay's book, titled "The Revivalist Manifesto" that reportedly propagates debunked conspiracy theories and homophobic leanings.

It also appears to target Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg by calling the former Indiana mayor "Gay Mayor Pete Buttigieg" and a “queer choice” for Biden's cabinet position, according to CNN.

When asked during an appearance on CNN's "Out Front" with Erin Burnett about his response to the commentary in this book, Buttigieg was appalled by how low the attacks go to knock his character.

"It seems like they just can't think of anything else," he said. "There is no discussion of what we actually did."

The book's foreword glowingly supports the author and the work product.

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“Scott McKay presents a valuable and timely contribution with The Revivalist Manifesto because he has managed here to articulate well what millions of conscientious, freedom-loving Americans are sensing,” according to his 300-word foreword from 2022.

CNN reported that Johnson also actively promoted the book on his social media and hosted McKay during a podcast.

A Johnson spokesman told the outlet in a statement that the Speaker actually "never read the passages" in question and that he "strongly disagrees with" them.

"He wrote the foreword as a favor to a friend, supportive of the general theme of the book but not as an endorsement of all the opinions expressed.”

What gets Buttigieg the most is that Johnson is now in a powerful position.

"You have somebody who has been taken seriously by the Speaker of the House of the United States suggesting that the reason that we had supply chain problems in the rebound from COVID wasn't because of the factories in China shutting down and then sending their ships here all at once — it was because the Secretary of Transportation is married to a guy and not to a woman."

"They just can't seem to let go of this."

Burnett cited numerous comments made by Johnson over time.

In 2008, he is quoted as saying, "Homosexual behavior is something that you do, it's not something that you are."

Last month, Johnson said: "One of four students in the United States identify with something other than straight — we're losing the country."

"He seems fixated on it," Buttigieg said. "And it is really troubling for millions of Americans, including me and my husband, and this is, again, not just some fringe radical member of Congress."

Watch the video below or click the link.

'Grow up': House Dem says too much 'at stake' to waste time appeasing 'idiot wing' of GOP

Rep. Sean Casten (D-Illinois) unleashed on his Republican colleagues in a 16-tweet thread on Friday, urging them to "grow up" and govern before a "disastrous" government shutdown paralyzes federal agencies eight days from now.

In his thread, Rep. Casten contrasted the way Democrats wielded their House majority with Republicans' more chaotic time in charge of the House of Representatives. He explained that because Congress operates on a fiscal year schedule that ends on September 30, Democratic leaders like former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) made sure the House passed its funding bills by the end of August each session so there was plenty of time for the US Senate to review appropriations and for the president to sign them into law.

When Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-California) still held the speaker's gavel, Rep. Casten pointed out that he was so incompetent at keeping his caucus in line that simply following the law by keeping the government funded was seen as beyond the pale by his caucus.

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"They tried to just say 'cut everything by 30%'. That didn't pass. So they said 'let's just fund at current levels for 45 days'. That cost McCarthy his job," Casten tweeted.

Casten went on to explain that the House Republican Conference spent 20 of those critical 45 days not governing, but squabbling over who would be their next speaker.

"Should we pick someone who hates gay people, fought to overturn the election or creeps on his son's porn? It took a while, but the @HouseGOP finally said YES to all three," Casten tweeted, tagging the official account of the Republican conference.

The next several tweets in Casten's thread named a laundry list of bills that satisfied far-right priorities but that had no chance of passing a Democratic-run senate, much less getting the signature of a Democratic president. Some the measures Johnson put to a vote included proposals to pay $1 annual salaries to Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Gary Gensler, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg as well as bills to significantly reduce if not outright eliminate funding for gun violence prevention, the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

"These things aren't urgent. They aren't helpful. And they aren't going to become law," Rep. Casten tweeted. "But they keep the idiot wing of the @HouseGOP from turning on their rookie manager. And waste 435 people's time on the House floor."

Casten urged his GOP colleagues to "get their s**t together" as a shutdown would be disastrous for "soldiers, air traffic controllers, food safety inspectors, IRS agents, [and] border patrol" along with other necessary government functions.

"PLEASE @HouseGOP. Grow up. Stop fighting with your brother and sister in the backseat," he added. "Either act like the adults you claim to be or at least have the dignity to go to your room so the adults can babysit your sorry selves. Too much is at stake."

Click here to read Casten's full thread.

House Republicans want 'Pothole Pete' Buttigieg's salary to be just one buck

He should work for free.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) is so fed up with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg that she brought forth an amendment and her fellow Republican lawmakers were on board to pass it.

"Pete Buttigieg doesn’t do his job," she wrote in a thread on Twitter/X in a football spike following the vote that reduced his salary to $1 passed. "It’s all about fake photo ops and taxpayer-funded private jet trip to accept LGBTQ awards for him."

Taylor Green clearly thought four quarters of pay was too much, adding: "I’m happy my amendment passed, but he doesn’t deserve a single penny."

In another missive she lobbied for him to be fired for pretending to work and being more concerned about optics over substance.

"I’m proud to announce my amendment to FIRE Pete Buttigieg just PASSED the House," she tweeted. "Pothole Pete staged fake bike rides to the White House and used private planes funded by taxpayers to receive awards for the way certain people have sex."

The move, described as an oral amendment to the fiscal 2024 Transportation-HUD spending bill, is most likely a symbolic slight to the Biden administration, since it will go to the full House and then likely has zero chance of leaving the Democratic-led Senate, according to Politico.

House Republicans are taking advantage of what the outlet noted as the Holman Rule, which allots Congress with powers to trim salaries of certain federal employees in spending bills.

Watch the video below or the link here.