Democratic strategist James Carville took aim at Pete Buttigieg over comments the former transportation secretary made casting doubt on whether former President Biden should have run for reelection.
When asked by reporters earlier this week if the Democratic party would be in a better position if Biden hadn’t run for a second term, Buttigieg responded, “Maybe, you know, right now, with the benefit of hindsight, I think most people would agree that is the case.”
Carville took issue with Buttigieg’s retrospective comments during a recent episode of his Politics War Room podcast with co-host Al Hunt.
“Of course, all of the people who never said anything, you know, now Pete Buttigieg is saying, well, it would have been better if he hadn’t run for reelection. Well, f—, say something when it meant something,” Carville said, in a clip highlighted by Mediaite. “But now in retrospect, everybody’s, oh, well, s—, we should have known.”
Biden ran his reelection bid until July of 2024, when he announced he would be dropping out of the race and that former Vice President Harris would be taking over the Democratic ticket. His decision followed a disastrous performance at a debate between Biden and then-former President Trump that called Biden’s mental acuity into question.
Several Democrats, including Buttigieg, supported Biden’s bid and rejected claims of the former president’s declining mental health.
Carville’s comments come after recently leaked audio appeared to show Biden struggling to answer questions and recall dates during a 2013 interview with special counsel Robert Hur about classified documents found in his home.
