Pete Buttigieg was campaigning for President Joe Biden right alongside Vice President Kamala Harris over the weekend just one day before she became the presumptive Democratic nominee.
The U.S. secretary of transportation stopped by MSNBC on Monday to tell Rachel Maddow all about his reaction to Biden dropping out of the race and endorsing Harris — though he made sure to avoid answering any questions about possibly becoming her running mate.
“Chasten and I were making our way back home to Michigan after appearing with Vice President Harris on Saturday for a fundraiser to support the Biden-Harris ticket in Massachusetts and, like everybody, got stunned by the news and really moved to see the president do what he’s done time and time again, which is to put our country first,” Buttigieg shared. “It’s really important to note just how historically rare it is for the most powerful person in the world to set aside that power, that has only happened a handful of times — especially doing it in the interest of the country and in the interest of the party.”
After running in the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries, the former mayor from Indiana used the TV appearance to again publicly endorse Harris.
“She represents a different generation, she represents a different style. We heard her talk about how, in her background as a prosecutor, part of what she did was defend the public from people who ran scams at for-profit universities, people who were responsible for sexual assaults — in other words, people like Donald Trump. And, at the same time, we heard this positive vision, this really energizing vision. You could see it,” Buttigieg said. “When my daughter, who’s about to be three, pointed to the TV and said, ‘What’s that?’ I just felt goosebumps, as I heard myself saying, ‘That’s Kamala Harris, she’s going to be the next President.’”
However, the politician also made sure to not get too cocky about potentially being Harris’ pick for vice president, despite Maddow’s best attempts.
“She’s going to make that decision. She’s going to do it based on what’s best for the country, best for the party and best for the ticket. I will do everything in my power to make sure that she is the next president,” Buttigieg reassured. “I’m excited to be out there on the trail whenever there’s an opportunity to remind people of that they already agree with Kamala Harris and Democrats, and disagree with Donald Trump and Republicans on issue after issue after issue from taxes to gun safety to a woman’s right to choose.”
“We’re just not in that mode right now. We’re on the second day since the president made his decision, and I trust her,” he reiterated, dancing around Maddow’s question. “By the way, few people in the country know more about the vice presidency and about the weight of that decision than she does. I very much trust her to make a choice, that makes sense to her, that is right for the party and that’s right for the country.”
You can watch the full MSNBC segment, above.
