Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg admitted Tuesday that Democrats “maybe” would have been better off in the 2024 election cycle if former President Joe Biden had not initially decided to seek a second term.
Buttigieg, who served as the youngest member of Biden’s cabinet, claimed that he thinks “most people would agree” that the former president’s 2024 presidential run may have harmed the Democratic Party. Though, he added that he believes that Democrats should not “wallow in hindsight.”
“Right now with the benefit of hindsight, I think most people would agree that that’s the case,” Buttigieg told reporters after a town hall event in Iowa. “We’re also not in a position to wallow in hindsight. We’ve got to get ready for some fundamental tests of the future of this country and this party, some of which are going on this very year, and many which will come next year.”
Still, Buttigieg defended Biden, saying that anytime he “needed something” from the White House during his time as transportation secretary, the former president assisted him.
“Every time I needed something from him, from the West Wing, I got it,” Buttigieg told reporters. “And you know, the time I worked closest with him in his last year was around the Baltimore bridge collapse. And what I can tell you is that, you know, the same president that the world saw addressing that was the president I was in the Oval with, insisting that we do a good job and do right by Baltimore. That’s characteristic of my experience with him.”
The former president ended his reelection bid in July 2024 following widespread concerns over his mental acuity, weeks after his disastrous presidential debate performance against President Donald Trump. Biden, who was the presumptive Democratic nominee at the time of his decision to withdraw his bid, immediately endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, who went on to lose the November election to Trump.
Biden claimed during an interview on May 7 that his decision to drop out of the race was “difficult” because his administration was “so successful.”
Buttigieg is reportedly eyeing a 2028 presidential run. He announced in March that he would not run for Michigan’s Senate seat in 2026, further fueling rumors that he is setting the stage for a White House bid. Buttigieg previously sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020, which he lost to Biden.
Buttigieg could not immediately be reached for comment.
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