Report: Obama Said Pete Buttigieg Couldn’t Win Presidency Because ‘He’s Gay’ And ‘Short’
Former president Barack Obama reportedly said ex-presidential primary candidate Pete Buttigieg cannot win the presidency because “he’s gay” and “short.”
His comments surfaced as part of the book “Lucky: How Joe Biden Barely Won the Presidency” which talked about the 2020 presidential election, co-authored by TheHill’s senior correspondent Amie Parnes and NBC’s senior political analyst Jonathan Allen.
The incident reportedly happened at a New York City fundraiser in October 2019 when the former Democratic president met a group of wealthy black donors.
In their book, Parnes and Allen said Obama told the donors that the former South Bend, Indiana mayor and now Transportation Secretary didn’t stand a chance to win the presidency because of his age, sexual orientation, and height.
According to a book on the 2020 presidential election, @BarackObama reportedly told a crowd of donors that @PeteButtigieg could not win the presidency because “he’s gay” and “short.”
https://t.co/mRdg1wxfWF— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) March 5, 2021
At the start of the primary campaign, Buttigieg was running along more than two dozen other Democrats vying to be the party’s presidential nominee including Senators Bernie Sanders (Vermont), Elizabeth Warren (Massachusetts), Amy Klobuchar (Minnesota), billionaire-businessman Mike Bloomberg, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio as well as now President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
“When he was asked to return to the original question on his advice, Obama said he liked Buttigieg, a rising talent who’d worked on his own campaign. But despite his affinity for the South Bend mayor, he rattled off a list of reasons why Buttigieg couldn’t win,” the book said.
“He’s thirty-eight,” Obama reportedly started — pausing for dramatic effect before he continued — “but he looks thirty” to which the audience laughed, according to the report.
“Obama was on a roll, using the tone of light ridicule he some-times pointed at himself — “big ears” and “a funny name,” he’d said so many times before. Now, it was directed at Buttigieg. “He’s the mayor of a small town,” the former president continued. “He’s gay,” Obama said, “and he’s short.” More laughter.”
Obama on Buttigieg, via @amieparnes and @jonallendc https://t.co/SkRMxs7IDf pic.twitter.com/gCAS3bKyII
— DJ Judd (@DJJudd) March 5, 2021
Obama backed Warren; no mention of Biden
In the book, the authors reportedly noted how “Obama surprisingly went to bat” for Senator Warren, “essentially ignoring other front-runners in the contest,” according to an excerpt from the book.
At that time, the report noted that the race had been narrowed down to four candidates: Biden, Buttigieg, Warren, and Sanders.
“While making almost no mention of eventual President Joe Biden, Obama spent much of his time attempting to assuage the corporate donors’ objections to the progressive Massachusetts senator, leading one donor to recall, ‘It was a 90 percent Warren sermon,’” the book reportedly said.
The book then appeared to take shots at the former Democratic president’s posturing when it said that only a few months earlier, he was approached by Buttigieg for advice regarding his presidential run.
“Only months earlier, Buttigieg had sat in Obama’s post-presidential office in Washington seeking counsel on how to maintain equanimity in the face of homophobia on the campaign trail,” the authors said.
“Now, behind his back, Obama was riffing on him to some of the wealthiest Black men in America at a time when Buttigieg had been dubbed “Mayo Pete” by critics who believed he couldn’t connect with African American voters,” it added.
Various media outlets reportedly reached out for comment from the former president — who has been painted as a “hero of progressive left” — but he has yet to respond.
Social media users react to Obama’s comments
As Obama’s reported comments about Buttigieg surfaced, social media users had mixed reactions: some agreeing to the former president, others questioning his view of gay people, and others calling to cancel the former president for his “insensitive” comments.
https://twitter.com/SebGorka/status/1367938121992712197
“Does Obama have issues with gay men?” one user wrote.
https://twitter.com/chopsueyside/status/1367935042257891332
“Pete Buttigieg is both gay and short idk what Obama said wrong,” another comment said.
LOL! I did not know Barack Obama could slam a fellow Marxist like he does Alfred E. Neuman (Pete Buttigieg)
Barrack Obama Said Pete Buttigieg Was Too Short and Gay to Be President, According to New Bookhttps://t.co/0wrVlcpo88
— Bob Dobalena (@dobalena_bob) March 6, 2021
“LOL! I did not know Barack Obama could slam a fellow Marxist like he does Alfred E. Neuman (Pete Buttigieg),” another user said.
Upshot: Obama acknowledges that the Democrat base is full of bigots.https://t.co/PgfuO6Z3uC
— BDW (@BryanDeanWright) March 5, 2021
“Upshot: Obama acknowledges that the Democrat base is full of bigots.”
The original Mr. Unity shows his real side…
Obama claimed Buttigieg couldn’t win election because ‘he’s gay’ and ‘short’: Book https://t.co/HZWQBRyEZf
— Paul Bedard (@SecretsBedard) March 6, 2021
“The original Mr. Unity shows his real side…”
Cancel Obama!https://t.co/YWh4WSkdaP
— Nextdoor Girl – The Reality Czar (@jeaniefacts) March 6, 2021
“Imagine if a Republican said what Obama allegedly did.”
Imagine if a Republican said what Obama allegedly did. https://t.co/gsSZmnJaK1
— Jeff Schmitt (@jefflschmitt) March 5, 2021