Beto O'Rourke reportedly considered Pete Buttigieg a 'human weather vane'


South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg's fellow Democratic presidential candidates find the 37-year-old and his mercurial rise to be, well, kind of annoying, The New York Times reports.
That's not unexpected, as former President Barack Obama's chief strategist David Axelrod pointed out. "It is a natural thing when a young candidate comes along and has success for other candidates who feel like they've toiled in the vineyards to resent it," he said.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), for example, reportedly became "extremely agitated" at the mere mention of Buttigieg's name during a conversation with fellow candidate Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) in the Senate chamber over the summer. But it turns out that it was former Rep. Beto O'Rourke (D-Texas) who may have been most rankled by Buttigieg's emergence, per the Times. O'Rourke, who dropped out of the race last week, was another relatively young and inexperienced candidate, but he failed to reel in the support that the Indiana mayor has, both in terms of polling and donations.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
One O'Rouke aide told the Times that the former congressman viewed Buttigieg as a "human weather vane" that represented the worst of politics. Stranger things have happened, but it doesn't sound like Buttigieg can expect an endorsement from O'Rourke anytime soon. Read more at The New York Times.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
The full moon calendar for every month
In depth When to see the lunar phenomenon every month
-
The end of Weight Watchers
Talking Point The diet brand has filed for bankruptcy in the US as it struggles to survive in era of weight-loss jabs
-
Trump vs. China: another tariff U-turn?
Today's Big Question Washington and Beijing make huge tariff cuts, as both sides seek 'exit ramp' from escalating trade war
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
-
Los Angeles city workers stage 1-day walkout over labor conditions
Speed Read
-
Mega Millions jackpot climbs to an estimated $1.55 billion
Speed Read
-
Bangladesh dealing with worst dengue fever outbreak on record
Speed Read
-
Glacial outburst flooding in Juneau destroys homes
Speed Read
-
Scotland seeking 'monster hunters' to search for fabled Loch Ness creature
Speed Read