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Buttigieg reacts to Harris comments about a running mate: ‘I was taken aback when I saw that’

Buttigieg on Harris running mate remarks: 'I was surprised when I read that'

Former Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg expressed concern over Vice President Harris’s statements, suggesting that her claims might be “too dangerous” and that he was taken aback by her choice of running mate.

“It was surprising to me when I read that—I really believe in fostering trust among Americans,” Buttigieg shared during a Thursday interview with Politico. “From my experience in politics, gaining voter trust hinges mostly on how you affect their lives, not just fitting into categories.”

“Honestly, if I didn’t believe this, I wouldn’t even consider running for president. I was around when our state turned blue for the first time since LBJ’s era,” he continued. “And it wasn’t due to Bill Clinton or John Kelly. That happened in 2008 with Barack Obama leading the charge.”

In her forthcoming book, “107 Days,” Harris mentioned that Buttigieg was her top pick as a running mate for the 2024 presidential campaign, yet she deemed the decision “too risky.”

Buttigieg, who had a short-lived presidential bid in 2020, commented, “If I were a straight white person, that might have made me an ideal partner,” referencing Harris’s perspective.

Harris reflected in her book, “We were already asking a lot from America: to accept women, particularly Black women, and those with diverse backgrounds.” She added, “A part of me thought, ‘Let’s just plunge ahead.’ But the stakes were considerable.”

Even though Buttigieg was on Harris’s shortlist, she ultimately opted for Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (D) as her running mate against President Trump and Vice President Vance.

“Over and over, my experience has been about re-elections. In South Bend, I learned you have to present your vision to voters,” Buttigieg remarked Thursday.

“That’s why I’m currently in Indiana—trying to reframe this convention to highlight political points,” he noted. “It’s really about the outcomes we can deliver for people, rather than all these other distractions.”

In “107 Days,” set to release on September 23, Harris described her decision to support former President Biden’s reelection as “reckless.”

“Of all the people in the White House, I was probably in the worst position to tell him not to run,” she explained. “If I advised him against it, it would have just come across as self-serving.”

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