Biden dares Buttigieg to call Obama administration a 'failure'

(Image credit: Win McNamee/Getty Images)

published 5 February 2020

Former Vice President Joe Biden got candid on Wednesday in New Hampshire.

He admitted to his supporters that his campaign "took a gut punch" in Iowa, as results — which are incomplete and preliminary — have him in fourth place. He wasn't completely pessimistic, though, pointing out he's taken similar hits before (for what it's worth, he never recovered from his Iowa struggles in past presidential bids) and that he's staying in the race regardless.

He also went after former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who looks like he has a good shot at emerging victorious once the dust finally settles in Iowa. Buttigieg had earlier described Biden as a member of the "old failed Washington," which prompted Biden to dare his younger competitor to take his criticism a step further and direct it at former President Barack Obama. Buttigieg so far hasn't taken up the offer.

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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.

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