Pete Buttigieg Thinks the Trump Fever Could Break

This past month has been one of the most consequential and dizzying periods in modern American politics. It began with President Biden’s disastrous debate in late June. Then came an assassination attempt against former President Trump. A week later, President Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed his vice president, Kamala Harris. And now Harris is already the de facto Democratic nominee.

At warp speed, the dynamics of this entire election have changed — not just for voters but for party leaders like Pete Buttigieg, who went from being a top Biden campaign surrogate to a top Harris campaign surrogate in hours. Buttigieg is one of the most popular figures in the Democratic Party. Nicknamed Mayor Pete, he went from mostly unknown to national star when he ran for president in 2020 as the mayor of South Bend, Ind. He then joined the Biden administration as secretary of transportation, and he’s also frequently on TV as one of the Democrats’ top messengers. There are reports that he’s under consideration to become Harris’s running mate. If that happens and they win, he will be the first openly gay vice president.

On Thursday, I sat down with Buttigieg to talk about how Biden’s decision to drop out changed the race, what took so long and what’s next. And if you notice that I’m not calling him “Secretary Buttigieg,” or asking anything about his work in the cabinet, that’s because there is a law, the Hatch Act, that prevents him from mixing his day job with campaigning.

There’s been this sudden vibe shift, if you will, in the Democratic Party since Biden dropped out. To what do you ascribe that level of enthusiasm? Part of what President Biden did with his extraordinary, historic, selfless choice was he tore down some obstacles