On Tuesday, NBC’s Today show provided Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg with a friendly national media platform to promote his “history-making candidacy.” While fawning over the 37-year-old openly gay mayor of South Bend, Indiana, co-host Craig Melvin focused on campaign strategy rather than his left-wing views.
“But another candidate has quickly made a name for himself – Pete Buttigieg, the 37-year-old mayor of South Bend, Indiana. We caught up with him yesterday between campaign stops in South Carolina to talk about his history-making run,” Melvin proclaimed as he introduced the taped interview that was conducted on Monday.
When Melvin noted “skeptics” of the “millennial mayor” and his lack of experience, Buttigieg spun it as a chance to attack Donald Trump and Mike Pence:
The best answer I have to the question of age is experience. I have more government experience than the President of the United States. I’ve got more executive government experience than the Vice President.
Melvin attempted to get “some specific policy positions” from the candidate, but again Buttigieg dodged: “I’m a policy guy. I’ve also watched my party sometimes fail to connect with voters....we sometimes forget to explain the values that motivate our policies.”
Soon the reporter moved on to treat Buttigieg as a celebrity:
Mayor Pete is also the first openly gay person to make a serious bid to become president. Coming out after serving in Afghanistan in 2014. The historic nature of his campaign landing him and his husband of almost a year, Chasten, on the cover of Time.
While briefly acknowledging Buttigieg “struggling to court” African-American voters in places like South Carolina, Melvin shifted focus to his faith: “The devout Episcopalian often talks about his faith on the campaign trail despite criticism.” The host wondered: “You also spend a fair amount of time talking about your faith. Why?”
At first, Buttigieg argued: “Well, it’s important to me. And I think it’s also important that we stop seeing religion used as a kind of cudgel.” However, he did just that in his next sentence: “As if God belonged to a political party. And if he did, I can’t imagine it would be the one that sent the current president into the White House.”
Rather than call out the contradiction, Melvin instead touted: “Buttigieg also looking beyond his Democratic contenders with a different strategy to take on President Trump. You’re gonna try to break through the noise with – with some quiet.”
Following the interview, co-host Savannah Guthrie gushed over the softball exchange, highlighting how such easy media appearances have helped Buttigieg’s campaign:
It’s interesting, though. We have a primary that has 20-plus candidates. Here’s a guy who two, three months ago I think all of us would have said, “Who? How do you say that?” You know and somehow, really on the basis of interviews like this, he’s been everywhere, he’s really catapulted himself to the top tier of candidates and the top tier of fundraising. So we’ll see if he has staying power....Good conversation.
Weatherman Al Roker marveled: “Very quiet, too. He’s kind of almost breaking through with less noise.” Melvin declared: “Yeah, well that’s his strategy. So we’ll see if it works. He’s one of those guys that you kind of have a hard time imagining raising his voice.”
Completely missing from the live discussion was any mention of Buttigieg drawing controversy for these comments he made during a campaign stop on Monday:
Our current president targeted with a message saying that we could find greatness by just stopping the clock and turning it back and making America great again. That past that he is promising the return us to was never as great as advertised, especially for marginalized Americans.
In addition to boosting Buttigieg on Tuesday, the Today show also devoted over eight minutes of air time to an interview with Jill Biden in which Guthrie teed up the wife of Joe Biden to repeatedly hit Trump.
Democratic contenders know they can rely on NBC to provide them with a friendly forum leading up to 2020.
Here is a full transcript of the May 7 segment:
7:42 AM ET
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: We’re back with In-Depth Today. The first Democratic debate of the 2020 presidential race is coming up next month, right here on NBC. And the field of candidates is the largest ever.
CRAIG MELVIN: And there are well-established candidates, like Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders. But another candidate has quickly made a name for himself – Pete Buttigieg, the 37-year-old mayor of South Bend, Indiana. We caught up with him yesterday between campaign stops in South Carolina to talk about his history-making run, his experience or lack thereof, and his sudden rise as a contender.
PETE BUTTIGIEG: Look, I’m as surprised as anybody that I’m doing this right now and for it to be catching on as quickly as it has.
MELVIN: You’re surprised by all of this?
BUTTIGIEG: I was not expecting to spend my 38th year running for president.
MELVIN: Once unknown on the national political stage, Pete Buttigieg, millennial mayor of South Bend, Indiana, has become a surprise contender in the 2020 Democratic primary. The 37-year-old Rhodes Scholar and military vet is the youngest candidate to have an eye on the White House. Something skeptics have jumped on.
BUTTIGIEG: The best answer I have to the question of age is experience. I have more government experience than the President of the United States. I’ve got more executive government experience than the Vice President.
MELVIN: Some of you other fellow contenders have also put out some specific policy positions. Why haven’t you?
BUTTIGIEG: I’ve put out a number of specific policy proposals. I’m a policy guy. I’ve also watched my party sometimes fail to connect with voters. Because while explaining our policies, we sometimes forget to explain the values that motivate our policies.
MELVIN: Two of the frontrunners in your party, Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, roughly twice your age. What does that say to you about where your party is right now?
BUTTIGIEG: Well, I think our party is certainly ready to lift up leaders from a new generation. The exciting thing is that I think this race will create a fair playing field where people who have been in the public sphere for longer than I’ve been alive and people like me get to compete on the basis of our ideas.
MELVIN: Mayor Pete is also the first openly gay person to make a serious bid to become president. Coming out after serving in Afghanistan in 2014. The historic nature of his campaign landing him and his husband of almost a year, Chasten, on the cover of Time.
BUTTIGIEG: He’s just an example of somebody who will make a great dad one day. He’s a great husband. And he’ll make a great first spouse for this country, too. He cares about other people, he’s a teacher, cares about education, cares about kids. And he’s somebody who I think is really alive to the ways that being in public office can allow you to help other people.
MELVIN: Did I just hear you say Mayor Pete wants kids very soon?
BUTTIGIEG: Yeah, I don’t know exactly when and how we’re going to pull that off, but Chasten is made to be a dad. And I’m looking forward to it, too, as soon as we can figure it out.
MELVIN: Probably have to get through this first.
BUTTIGIEG: Yeah, maybe.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN [PROTESTER]: Mayor Pete, you betray your baptism, your holy baptism!
MELVIN: It’s also led to hecklers and homophobia on the campaign trail.
BUTTIGIEG: In politics, you see the good, the bad, and the ugly. And I think it happens for any candidate.
MELVIN: That doesn’t bother you at all?
BUTTIGIEG: It’s not like I enjoy it, but I have a responsibility to keep the focus on what we’re actually trying to do.
MELVIN: Now he’s putting in the work, trying to connect with voters across the country, including South Carolina, home to a critical primary and a critical voting bloc Buttigieg is struggling to court. I’ve seen a number of your rallies, they are fairly homogenous, racially speaking at least. How do you plan to speak to African-American voters specifically?
BUTTIGIEG: Part of it is by laying out an agenda on the issues that black voters are asking me about most often. But a lot of it’s also about a relationship. It takes a lot of work to make sure people get to know you.
MELVIN: The devout Episcopalian often talks about his faith on the campaign trail despite criticism. You also spend a fair amount of time talking about your faith.
BUTTIGIEG: Yes.
MELVIN: Why?
BUTTIGIEG: Well, it’s important to me. And I think it’s also important that we stop seeing religion used as a kind of cudgel. As if God belonged to a political party. And if he did, I can’t imagine it would be the one that sent the current president into the White House.
MELVIN: Buttigieg also looking beyond his Democratic contenders with a different strategy to take on President Trump. You’re gonna try to break through the noise with – with some quiet.
BUTTIGIEG: In a way. Let’s call it a very different energy.
MELVIN: He’s gonna call you low energy.
BUTTIGIEG: That’s fine. There’s gonna be a temptation to kind of play his game. If you’re playing his game, you’re losing. No one is gonna play his game better than he does. And so we’ve got to do something completely different.
MELVIN: It’s a fascinating conversation. I mean, you know, he’s raised $7 million first quarter of the year, he’s caught a lot of people by surprise. But he is the mayor of a city that’s about 100,000 people and he wants to run – or he is running to be the chief executive and commander of the largest military of the world. And so it’s – I don’t know, we’ll see.
GUTHRIE: It’s interesting, though. We have a primary that has 20-plus candidates. Here’s a guy who two, three months ago I think all of us would have said, “Who? How do you say that?”
MELVIN: Right.
GUTHRIE: You know and somehow, really on the basis of interviews like this, he’s been everywhere, he’s really catapulted himself to the top tier of candidates and the top tier of fundraising. So we’ll see if he has staying power.
MELVIN: He’s added some staff in some of those critical states like Iowa, New Hampshire, reportedly soon to come South Carolina. So it looks like he’s trying to build a campaign that’s going to have some staying power. We’ll see if we’re talking about him six months from now.
GUTHRIE: Good conversation.
AL ROKER: Very quiet, too. He’s kind of almost breaking through with less noise.
MELVIN: Yeah, well that’s his strategy. So we’ll see if it works. He’s one of those guys that you kind of have a hard time imagining raising his voice. Kind of like you. Seriously.
GUTHRIE: Really? He’s raising his voice all the time.
MELVIN: Well, but not like –
ROKER: That’s usually when I’m doing my best Gilbert Gottfried. What?!
MELVIN: We’ll have much more from Mayor Pete, by the way, coming up in the third hour of Today.
GUTHRIE: Thank you so much, Craig.
