Pete Buttigieg has suggested that President Joe Biden had to “put his ego aside” to make way for Kamala Harris.
The Transportation Secretary has also claimed that former president Donald Trump would not have been capable of making such a decision in the interests of the country or the Republican party.
Asked on Fox News why Biden was not on the ticket for the Democrats this year, Buttigieg said: “He did something that Donald Trump cannot comprehend, which is to put his ego aside.”
Biden was forced to exit the race by senior Democrats who were concerned by an apparent age-related decline in his public performances and a particularly poor TV debate against Trump.
Following the first night of the Democratic National Convention, which saw Biden pass the torch to Harris for the Democratic ticket in the November election, Buttigieg came out to bat for the president’s record.
During a 15-minute back-and-forth with Fox News’s Lawrence B. Jones on Tuesday morning, Jones cited reports from Axios and the Wall Street Journal on Biden’s deteriorating mental condition, before asking Buttigieg whether this was the real reason he was ousted from the Democratic ticket.
“That’s funny. Sometimes I feel like conservative media and the Republican Party still think they’re running against Joe Biden,” the senator said, before stating that those in the Oval Office should be judged “by their results,” and listing various achievements for which he credited Biden.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg offers remarks to reporters at the U.S. Department of Transportation, Tuesday, July 23, 2024, in Washington. During a Tuesday morning interview with Fox News, Buttigieg countered claims that Biden had been forced out of the race by the Democratic Party, and said that president’s decision was thanks to his own ability to “put his ego aside.”
Rod Lamkey, Jr/Associated Press
During his late appearance at the event, Biden called his choice of Kamala Harris as running mate in 2020 “the best decision I made in my whole career,” and told the audience that the upcoming election was part of “the battle for the very soul of America.”
Biden also remarked on his decision to withdraw from the race and throw his support behind Harris, saying: “It’s been the honor of my lifetime to serve as your president. I love the job, but I love my country more.”
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg talks about supply chains while introducing President Joe Biden during an event at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on November 27, 2023 in Washington, DC. Buttigieg defended the president’s record during a Tuesday morning interview with Fox News, and said: “I feel like conservative media and the Republican Party still think they’re running against Joe Biden.”
Alex Wong/Getty Images
When Jones pressed Buttigieg, asking why Democrats waited until after the June 27 debate against Trump to remove Biden, and mentioning reports that former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi “had to take over” from Biden during the 2023 debt-ceiling crisis.
“He won the debt ceiling negotiations, that’s the point,” Buttigieg said. “You can go over whether he slips up and says one name when he wants to say another name, or you can look at what he’s actually accomplished as president. It turns out he’s really good at being president of the United States.”
Do you have a story we should be covering? Do you have any questions about this article? Contact LiveNews@newsweek.com.
