Why Joe Biden might be taking it easy on Pete Buttigieg
The most famous unspoken Democratic presidential candidate alliance is probably the one between Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). But there might be one brewing between former Vice President Joe Biden and South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, as well — at least on Biden's end.
Biden and Buttigieg aren't old friends like Warren and Sanders, but there are some logical strategic reasons for why that might be the case. Biden hasn't really gone after the 37-year-old mayor very much since the primaries began, despite their ideological overlap and the fact that many of the other candidates seem to find the political upstart a tad annoying.
When asked about Buttigieg during a bus tour in Iowa on Sunday, Biden skirted the question because he didn't want anyone to twist his words into criticism. He called Buttigieg "a talented guy" and said he has no negative feelings toward him. One explanation might be that Biden wouldn't want to alienate Buttigieg's more moderate base in the hopes that they could flock over to him if the mayor falters.
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.
But their voters actually appear to be quite different, some observers note, despite some similar policy stances. Instead, Biden might view Buttigieg as someone who could help take down Warren (which is actually the case in some recent polls) and boost the former vice president's candidacy in the long run. Tim O'Donnell
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.
-
Nigel Farage: was he a teenage racist?Talking Point Farage’s denials have been ‘slippery’, but should claims from Reform leader’s schooldays be on the news agenda?
-
Pushing for peace: is Trump appeasing Moscow?In Depth European leaders succeeded in bringing themselves in from the cold and softening Moscow’s terms, but Kyiv still faces an unenviable choice
-
Sudoku medium: November 29, 2025The daily medium sudoku puzzle from The Week
-
Memo signals Trump review of 233k refugeesSpeed Read The memo also ordered all green card applications for the refugees to be halted
-
Judge halts Trump’s DC Guard deploymentSpeed Read The Trump administration has ‘infringed upon the District’s right to govern itself,’ the judge ruled
-
Trump accuses Democrats of sedition meriting ‘death’Speed Read The president called for Democratic lawmakers to be arrested for urging the military to refuse illegal orders
-
Court strikes down Texas GOP gerrymanderSpeed Read The Texas congressional map ordered by Trump is likely an illegal racial gerrymander, the court ruled
-
Trump defends Saudi prince, shrugs off Khashoggi murderSpeed Read The president rebuked an ABC News reporter for asking Mohammed bin Salman about the death of a Washington Post journalist at the Saudi Consulate in 2018
-
Congress passes bill to force release of Epstein filesSpeed Read The Justice Department will release all files from its Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking investigation
-
Trump says he will sell F-35 jets to Saudi ArabiaSpeed Read The president plans to make several deals with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman this week
-
Judge blasts ‘profound’ errors in Comey caseSpeed Read ‘Government misconduct’ may necessitate dismissing the charges against the former FBI director altogether
