Obama Says Pete Buttigieg “Too Short” to Win a Presidential Election

Democrats

New book reveals former president’s true feelings about the 2020 Democratic field 

Andrew Stiles • September 16, 2022 1:30 pm

Former president Barack Obama thought Pete Buttigieg was “too short” to win the 2020 presidential election, according to a recently published book about Obama’s relationship with former running mate Joe Biden.
“Obama had actually been impressed by the brains, charisma, and chutzpah of the thirty-something mayor of a small midwestern city,” writes New York magazine correspondent Gabriel Debenedetti in The Long Alliance. “Obama just doubted it would all add up to viability in a presidential campaign where image and fame mattered immensely—he thought Buttigieg was too short and, as a former volunteer for Obama in 2008, seemed too young—and where such a la …