In a friendly sit-down with former Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg on Monday, Today show co-host Craig Melvin gushed that the 38-year-old former Sound Bend mayor “could run for president ten more times.” The NBC anchor went on to promote Buttigieg preparing to play late-night host, set to fill in for Jimmy Kimmel on Thursday.
“By our count, you’ll be 44 in 2024, 48 in 2028. Someone did the math and said you could run for president ten more times and still be younger than the youngest man in the race right now,” Melvin encouraged during the softball exchange. In reality, Buttigieg just turned 38 in January and will be 42 in 2024. Apparently math is hard for the folks at NBC.
Melvin wondered: “What’s next for you?” Buttigieg teased upcoming plans: “Well, in the immediate term, you know, we’re going to be traveling a little bit, thanking supporters....But we’re going to have some fun first.”
“I was gonna ask you about this because a little birdie told me you might be hosting a late-night show?,” Melvin eagerly asked. Buttigieg confirmed: “Yeah, on Thursday I’m going to guest hosting Jimmy Kimmel Live. So we’re really excited for that. Lining up a great slate of guests. Sir Patrick Stewart’s coming on, we’re very excited about that.”
Melvin continued to boost the late-night stint: “You’re gonna do the monologue and everything?” Buttigieg remarked: “Yeah, well, hopefully some funnier minds than mine will be doing some writing for that. But I think it’s gonna be fun.”
Of course, Kimmel has a long record of using his ABC show to push a left-wing agenda and cheer on Democratic candidates:
Kimmel to Sanders: ‘McConnell Has Never Done the Right Thing’
Biden to Kimmel: ‘No Legitimate Journalist’ Believes Ukraine Claims Against Me
Sanders TV? Kimmel, Sanders Take Turns Complimenting Each Other’s Left-Wing Views
Kimmel to Harris: As President, Will You ‘Prosecute’ Trump and ‘Hench Characters?’
Apparently if you’re a failed Democratic candidate for president, you get treated to softball interviews and your own comedy show for a night.
Here is a transcript of Melvin’s March 9 questions to Buttigieg:
7:13 AM ET
(...)
CRAIG MELVIN: Pete Buttigieg joins us now for his first interview since ending that historic campaign. Good to see you, thanks for coming in.
PETE BUTTIGIEG: Good to be with you.
MELVIN: Sunday Bernie Sanders said you ran a solid campaign but he was disappointed that you allowed the establishment to pressure you to get out of the race. What kind of a pressure did you feel from the establishment?
(...)
MELVIN: So the establishment didn’t pressure you to get out?
BUTTIGIEG: No. Look, the kind of people who run for President of the United States are the kind of people who make their own decisions. And it was my decision.
MELVIN: Let’s talk about Michigan and Pennsylvania and Wisconsin for a moment. Because in 2016, about 215,000 voters voted for Bernie Sanders in the spring, but switched their support to Donald Trump in the fall, helping him become President of the United States. How does Joe Biden prevent that from happening this time, if he gets the nomination?
(...)
MELVIN: One of the reasons that you struggled mightily during the campaign, and this is something you and I talked about almost a year ago, your inability to connect with black and brown voters in the Democratic Party. You where were the first major candidate to actually roll out their plan to address some racial inequalities in this country, you spent a lot of time in those communities, but you couldn’t break through. Was it the message or was it the messenger?
(...)
MELVIN: Despite a crowded field that included the first openly gay candidate, a Hispanic man, several women, including a black woman, an Asian man, now your party is left with two white guys in their late 70s. Is there an obligation for one of them to pick a vice president from the aforementioned group?
BUTTIGIEG: I do think it will be very important to have diversity on the ticket and diversity in the future cabinet.
MELVIN: Obligation – is there an obligation?
BUTTIGIEG: Yeah, I’m not going to place obligations on the future nominee, but certainly as a voter and as a Democrat I would expect to see that kind of diversity on the ticket.
MELVIN: By our count, you’ll be 44 in 2024, 48 in 2028. Someone did the math and said you could run for president ten more times and still be younger than the youngest man in the race right now. What’s next for you?
BUTTIGIEG: Well, in the immediate term, you know, we’re going to be traveling a little bit, thanking supporters, and Chasten and I are looking forward to some time away. Then we’ll come back and I’ll make myself useful in new ways. But we’re going to have some fun first.
MELVIN: I was gonna ask you about this because a little birdie told me you might be hosting a late-night show?
BUTTIGIEG: Yeah, on Thursday I’m going to guest hosting Jimmy Kimmel Live. So we’re really excited for that. Lining up a great slate of guests. Sir Patrick Stewart’s coming on, we’re very excited about that.
MELVIN: Amy Klobuchar, is she going to be a guest perhaps?
BUTTIGIEG: You know, I’m hoping to catch up with her soon.
MELVIN: You’re gonna do the monologue and everything?
BUTTIGIEG: Yeah, well, hopefully some funnier minds than mine will be doing some writing for that. But I think it’s gonna be fun.
(...)
