He has a new, carefully groomed beard. He joked with his brother for hours on a profane comedy podcast. And on Tuesday, he criticized the Trump administration early on in the presidential nomination calendar through appeals to national patriotism.
Pete Battigeg returns to the Democratic spotlight this spring, with a series of appearances that prompted speculation about how one of the party's most clearly ambitious politicians will spend his lead through 2028.
I hope he will take that mantle as Democrats are still looking for direction and standard bearer after the defeat of President Trump, a supporter of Battigieg, the smooth-talked-for-mayor who served as Transport Secretary in the Biden administration in November.
Without speaking out Trump's name in front of a crowd of more than 1,600 veterans in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Battigegg advertised the president's efforts to cut the Department of Veterans Affairs and his wider country's handling. He pleaded attendees to apply “peaceful but energetic” pressure to block federal agencies' cuts and tax credits for the wealthy. He then expressed optimism that people would resist Trump and restore faith in democracy.
“There's a parade of horror emanating from this White House,” said Buttigigue, 43. However, he added, “The American people succumb to the king.”
Sponsored by a progressive group of veterans, Iowa's Battigieg's town hall was his most notable involvement in the democratic shadow primary race where prominent governors and members of Congress are competing with the weight of the 2028 presidential bid.
They are busy. The party's 2024 vice presidential candidate, the Governor of Minnesota, will host City Hall in Iowa in March and will attend party conventions this month in California and South Carolina. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker raised 2028 speculation last month with a fiery speech in New Hampshire. Arizona Sen. Reuben Gallego held an event last week in Pennsylvania, the top state of the battlefield.
And New York's president Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who is considered a possible competitor, is traveling the country with Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, to rally supporters for the big money impacts in politics.
The vote is an ally of Battigigue, a former Navy Intelligence officer deployed in Afghanistan, but the group is close to other potential 2028 candidates with military experience, including Waltz and Gallego.
Buttigieg has expressed particular interest on his part in how he can regain the overlapping mix of working-class voters, men and disillusioned Americans drawn to Trump's vision of defeating the establishment last November.
At Iowa City Hall, he offered no hints about his ultimate political aspirations, but he reminded him of his past successes in Hawkeye.
On a previous trip, he casually said, “I was like I beat the Iowa Caucus,” and scratched his head as if reluctant to boast. “Run again!” someone cried out from the crowd. Buttigieg just laughed.
Buttigieg can determine whether success can surpass the very enthusiastic voters who read traditional news to MSNBC (people who take part in weekday political events in non-election years) stand out in what is expected to be a busy, major field.
Buttigieg is clear about his goal of reaching non-political voters, whom Democrats say they feel too focused on the elite. Asked questions from attendees on Tuesday about how the party can regain voter trust, he suggested it needs to have “some tough conversations.”
Battigeg said Democrats must not only oppose Trump, but also come up with a more aggressive policy plan. And the party said, “We had to connect everything we believe, everything we say, everything we do, everything we do, to our daily lives.”
Buttigieg also admitted that his party did poor work last year by claiming that traditional indicators were doing the economy well by minimizing the anxiety of angry spouses, even if voters were consistently expressing economic frustration. “How about that?” he asked.
Speaking to reporters after the event, Battigigue was less conclusive about whether Democrats made the mistake of supporting President Joseph R. Biden Jr.'s ultimately abandoning concerns about his age.
He was asked if he saw Biden experience cognitive decline last year — what Biden fought back in a recent interview — Battigigue didn't respond directly. He said when he and Biden dealt with the collapse of a bridge in Baltimore last spring, “the same president the world saw as the oval president.”
Would the party be better if Biden had not run for reelection?
“Maybe,” Battigeg allowed. “I think most people now benefit from hindsight and agree that.”
Iowa Democratic Sen. Zach Walls is considering a run for the US Senate, but Battigegg said “we're trying to meet voters where they are. That's one of the most important things for Democrats.”
“His ability to communicate in a genuine, detailed way really reaches people who may not be hyperpolitical or who are unhappy with both parties,” added Waals.
That was the sentiment that resonated with attendees Tuesday, and they said they were grateful for Battigie's simple way of speaking.
“He won't talk about that political speech,” said Chris Bzdill, 55, of Cedar Rapids. “He understands that not everyone agrees with his views, but he's going to give people ideas about where he stands. He's not going to sit on the fence.”
The Iowa Republicans had a different perspective on Battigieg's events. In a statement, Trump said he has improved access to health care for veterans while reducing wasted spending in the Veterans Affairs Bureau, providing a contrasting view of Democrats from local veterans themselves.
“Mayor Battigeg and Democrats want to rewrite history, but Iowa veterans know the truth: President Trump was the first to say them,” Wayne Clotner, an Air Force veteran in the Cedar Rapids area, said in a statement. “Joe Biden and the Democrats put politics first.”
Buttigieg was the lesser-known mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and was the first to burst into the national scene of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary. He was quickly praised for his sharp lines of debate and persuasive communication skills, but eventually disappeared as Biden consolidated his support.
Recently, Buttigieg has been more prominent, talking to university students at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Laughing with Stephen Colbert at his late night show. Appears on the “Flagrant” comedy podcast. The comedy podcast charges its political correctness in the opposite way to “unruly hot take.”
Buttigieg, who now lives in Michigan with her husband and two children, was considered a candidate for the Open Senate and Governor race there, but resigned from both contests in March, promoting more speculation about the president's run.
Mr. Waals, a friend of Mr. Battigieg, who attended the town hall, said he would like to see Mr. Buttigieg's new whiskers firsthand. “My beard looks good!” he wrote in the text.
But did he think it was some kind of careful political calculation? “I don't know,” replied Waals. “The relationship with facial hair is a little different. I don't speculate.”
