Buttigieg takes back-to-back hits from Klobuchar, Steyer, and Yang in New Hampshire debate


After his impressive Iowa showing, the knives were out for former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg at Friday's Democratic debate.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) went after Buttigieg, who is narrowly leading Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in state delegate equivalents in Iowa, early on in the debate, comparing him to President Trump by saying, "We have a newcomer in the White House, and look where it got us. I think having some experience is a good thing." Klobuchar also criticized Buttigieg for having called the impeachment proceedings "exhausting" and saying it "makes you want to watch cartoons instead."
Soon after, businessman Tom Steyer launched a similar line of attack, saying "you have to have experience" to "take down" Trump.
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.
"That's why I'm worried about Mayor Pete," Steyer said. "You need to be able to go toe-to-toe with this guy and take him down on debate stage, or we're gonna lose."
Then, it was entrepreneur Andrew Yang's turn to get a hit in. After Buttigieg described how he plans to beat Trump, Yang cut in, telling Buttigieg specifically he's "missing the lesson of Donald Trump's victory," describing Trump as "not the cause of all of our problems" but rather a "symptom of a disease that has been building up in our communities for years and decades." Brendan Morrow
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
Jaguar Land Rover’s cyber bailout
Talking Point Should the government do more to protect business from the ‘cyber shockwave’?
-
Russia: already at war with Europe?
Talking Point As Kremlin begins ‘cranking up attacks’ on Ukraine’s European allies, questions about future action remain unanswered
-
Crossword: October 5, 2025
The Week's daily crossword puzzle
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denial
Speed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartels
speed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats
-
Supreme Court rules for Fed’s Cook in Trump feud
Speed Read Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her role following Trump’s attempts to oust her
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protesters
Speed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal
-
Trump: US cities should be military ‘training grounds’
Speed Read In a hastily assembled summit, Trump said he wants the military to fight the ‘enemy within’ the US
-
US government shuts down amid health care standoff
Speed Read Democrats said they won’t vote for a deal that doesn’t renew Affordable Care Act health care subsidies
-
YouTube to pay Trump $22M over Jan. 6 expulsion
Speed Read The president accused the company of censorship following the suspension of accounts post-Capitol riot
-
Oregon sues to stop Trump military deployment
Speed Read The president wants to send the National Guard into Portland