From the mayor of South Bend, Indiana to a nomination for Transportation secretary. It was quite the consolation prize for Pete Buttigieg’s failed bid for president. But it was a position he didn’t have the experience to fill. Using kid gloves to address that lack of experience on Sunday’s State of the Union, CNN host Jake Tapper asked Buttigieg about working on a national infrastructure bill for a President Biden, but refused to ask him about his failure to fix potholes in his city.
After letting Buttigieg get some kicks in against President Trump, Tapper wanted to talk about his “historic nomination.” Doing some gymnastics to minimize DNI Richard Grenell’s achievement as the first openly gay cabinet member, Tapper asked:
You’re going to be the first openly gay person to serve in a Senate-confirmed cabinet secretary position. You’ll also be the first millennial cabinet member. Does this -- do these milestones mean something to you personally?
When it came to Buttigieg’s lack of qualifications for the job, Tapper used kid gloves. First, he played a clip from a Biden campaign add knocking his inexperience, then noted: “As mayor, you oversaw a city government with roughly thousand employees. You're now going to be leading a department that has nearly 60,000 employees nationwide. Are you confident you do have enough experience to take on this role?”
That was the only question Tapper posed to the secretary hopeful about his past work on infrastructure. In doing so, Tapper overlooked his guest’s blunder with potholes.
As NewsBusters previously detailed when CBS News tried to cover-up his failures, Buttigieg’s history with road projects was so abysmal that South Bend residents pleaded to Domino’s Pizza to gift the city a grant of $5,000 to help solve the problem. The roads were so bad that it was damaging peoples’ cars to the tune of $500-$1,000 per visit to the repair shop.
Still, none of that came from Tapper. Instead, he asked about putting together a massive infrastructure bill for a Biden administration:
The Biden team is reportedly already laying the groundwork for a major infrastructure bill within Biden's first year in office. It could be one of the few areas of bipartisan agreement left in Washington, although, of course, a deal has remained out of reach for years, and, as you note, something of a running joke under President Trump. Is a deal possible and what else would you focus on as transportation secretary, in addition to a major infrastructure bill?
For his final question, Tapper actually asked Buttigieg about Hunter Biden being investigated by the U.S. attorney in Delaware. But in the midst of the question, he accused Trump of “swampy deals when it comes to investigations and pardons and commutations when it comes to the President's allies and such.”
The question was just a way to tee up Buttigieg to opine about how allegedly clean Biden was and how he wasn’t going interfere with the investigation, supposedly.
Tapper telegraphed how unserious the interview was going to be. He opened by playfully questioning his guest about what title he wanted to use (Click “expand”):
JAKE TAPPER: President-elect Joe Biden tapping another Democratic primary rival, Pete Buttigieg to be his Transportation secretary, calling him a new voice to move past old politics. Joining me now, for his first interview since his nomination was announced, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, Pete Buttigieg. Do we call you Mayor Pete, Secretary Pete, Secretary Mayor Pete, or what do you want us to do here?
PETE BUTTIGIEG: I'll always answer to Mayor Pete.
TAPPER: Okay.
It was a question just as asinine as when he asked Vice President-elect Kamala Harris about what her husband’s title should be, submitting “first dude” as his preferred pick.
This is CNN.
The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
CNN’s State of the Union
December 20, 2020
9:35:20 a.m. EasternJAKE TAPPER: President-elect Joe Biden tapping another Democratic primary rival, Pete Buttigieg to be his Transportation secretary, calling him a new voice to move past old politics. Joining me now, for his first interview since his nomination was announced, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, Pete Buttigieg. Do we call you Mayor Pete, Secretary Pete, Secretary Mayor Pete, or what do you want us to do here?
PETE BUTTIGIEG: I'll always answer to Mayor Pete.
TAPPER: Okay.
(…)
9:37:11 a.m. Eastern
TAPPER: Let’s turn to your historic nomination. You’re going to be the first openly gay person to serve in a Senate-confirmed cabinet secretary position. You’ll also be the first millennial cabinet member. Does this -- do these milestones mean something to you personally?
(…)
9:39:33 a.m. Eastern
TAPPER: As mayor, you oversaw a city government with roughly thousand employees. You're now going to be leading a department that has nearly 60,000 employees nationwide. Are you confident you do have enough experience to take on this role?
(…)
9:40:44 a.m. Eastern
TAPPER: The Biden team is reportedly already laying the groundwork for a major infrastructure bill within Biden's first year in office. It could be one of the few areas of bipartisan agreement left in Washington, although, of course, a deal has remained out of reach for years, and, as you note, something of a running joke under President Trump. Is a deal possible and what else would you focus on as transportation secretary, in addition to a major infrastructure bill?
(…)
9:43:05 a.m. Eastern
TAPPER: In addition to focusing on transportation, I am sure that you, as just an experienced politician, will be asked for your advice on other matters. And I have to ask, President-elect Biden's son Hunter has acknowledged he’s under investigation by the U.S. attorney in Delaware.
Again, I know your focus is on transportation but you're an experienced politician, you’re a representative of the Biden transition team. How should Biden administration handle this investigation so the American people can be confident that it's done in a free and fair manner without any undue influence?
We’re getting, you know—We’re emerging from four years of all sorts of swampy deals when it comes to investigations and pardons and commutations when it comes to the President's allies and such. What is the best way for President-elect Biden – President Biden to handle an investigation into his son? Should there be a special counsel? Should that U.S. attorney be allowed to do his investigation and stay in that job? What do you think?
(…)
