The final Democratic debate of 2019 was all about Pete Buttigieg

Pete Buttigieg.
(Image credit: FREDERIC J. BROWN/Getty Images)

There's no "I" in team — but there are a few in "Buttigieg."

The final Democratic debate of 2019 was largely about South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, as he racked up nearly 20 minutes of speaking time and found himself at the forefront of several squabbles.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

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.

Sign up

Buttigieg's name was invoked throughout the evening, including in a particularly testy exchange with Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) on the subject of his wine cave fundraiser. The two candidates also sparred over tuition assistance and, more broadly, campaign finance.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) wasted no opportunity to go after her fellow moderate on the debate stage, first calling out Buttigieg for parroting "talking points" and then raising concerns over his experience and electability.

But Buttigieg should rest easy knowing there was at least one other non-Democratic candidate who was attacked more than him: President Trump.

Marianne Dodson

Marianne is The Week’s Social Media Editor. She is a native Tennessean and recent graduate of Ohio University, where she studied journalism and political science. Marianne has previously written for The Daily Beast, The Crime Report, and The Moroccan Times.