The Transportation Secretary has bitten the Trump network several times in interviews
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Fox News hit Pete Buttigieg with a gotcha question on Trump vs. Harris. It didn’t go well for them
- Updated: Jul. 28, 2024, 12:40 p.m.
- Published: Jul. 28, 2024, 12:39 p.m.
U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has been a rough interview for Fox News. (Greg Garrison | AL.com)
ggarrison@al.com
By
Kevin Manahan | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Sooner or later, Fox News producers and hosts will learn a lesson: So far,
several attempts to corner
Pete Buttigieg with (what they believe are) clever questions has backfired.
In honor of the Summer Olympics happening now in Paris, we’ll say this: Buttigieg is one of the nation’s most skilled political gymnasts.
On Fox News Sunday, host Shannon Bream asked Buttigieg — the Transportation Secretary who has been floated as Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate — if
President Joe Biden was aware of how badly he had been doing in polling against
Donald Trump.
The answer wasn’t what Bream expected, because she tried to interrupt, but Buttigieg wouldn’t allow it.
“I’m aware of how he was doing. We’re all aware of how he’s doing,” Buttigieg said. “Our country has watched our president lead, and yes, we’ve also seen the fact that he’s 10 years older than he was 10 years ago. But unlike Republicans, who in Trump’s personality cult will take a look at Donald Trump and say he’s perfectly fine, even though he seemed unable to tell the difference between Nikki Haley and Nancy Pelosi, even though he’s rambling about electrocuting sharks and Hannibal Lecter, even though he is clearly older and stranger than he was when America first got to know him.
“They say he’s strong as an ox, leaps tall buildings in a single bound. We don’t have that kind of warped reality on our side.
“On the contrary, the president confronted that reality in what must have been one of the most difficult decisions for an American president to make ever. And he did something that I don’t think Donald Trump could even conceive of doing, which is putting his own interests aside for the country.”
While most political analysts say it’s unlikely Harris will pick Buttigieg — the former South Bend, Ind., mayor and naval officer, who is gay — his stock is rising fast. Already known for his smiling but devastating takedowns, he is blitzing the airwaves as a Harris defender while his digital staff publishes clips of each of his stinging attacks on
Trump and running mate JD Vance.
According to Politico, a Buttigieg ally in Indiana — reportedly acting independently of Buttigieg — has compiled a
dossier evaluating Harris’ options. The conclusion on Buttigieg: “Simply put, the vibes are high right now.”
However, Harris confidants and allies remain skeptical about his chances, Politico reports. They anticipate Harris will be ruthlessly pragmatic about her selection, more likely to choose Gov. Josh Shapiro of critical Pennsylvania, or Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona, a moderate Democrat from another key state. Of Buttigieg, one Harris insider said, “I just don’t see it.”
