What People Are Saying About Mayor Pete’s Debate Night
So, the brilliance of Buttigieg last night was that he occupied both lanes...It was in the primary lane, but it was also in that 20% general electorate lane and I thought it was brilliant. - Rep. Steve Israel
MSNBC: MSNBC Live With Stephanie Ruhle
Tim Miller: I thought that was a moving moment. It was a moving moment in the room. And the people that Pete can speak to are religious voters who are uncomfortable with Trump. [...] I think Pete is very comfortable talking about his faith and did a great job last night.
Steve Israel: 35 percent of the electorate is with Donald Trump no matter how many rape allegations are brought forward. They love him. They're the people he had in mind when he said I can shoot somebody on fifth avenue and not lose votes. 45 percent of the American electorate loathes Donald Trump, no matter what good he may do or has done, they're voting against him. What I think Buttigieg did yesterday is, he touched the 20 percent that have not yet made the judgement. So, the brilliance of Buttigieg last night was that he occupied both lanes. [...] It was in the primary lane, but it was also in that 20% general electorate lane and I thought it was brilliant.
Matt Gorman: One of the other issues I saw that he did a really good job at was he defended private insurance without coming across as a swish or a moderate. He did it reasonably. He threaded that tight rope in a very real way.
CNN: CNN Newsroom with Poppy Harlow and Jim Sciutto
Mark Preston: What an amazing moment for this reason and this reason alone, very authentic, talking about the struggles he's feeling, and it's not from a "traditional marriage," which you would hear on the debate stage. Guess what, not everybody's in a traditional marriage. And guess what, America's changing. And Pete Buttigieg really explained that in a way that I thought was very very compelling.
POLITICO MAGAZINE: Mayor Pete is our Best Bipartisan Hope
The other big winner was Pete Buttigieg, whose smooth intelligence and moral seriousness stood out...His eloquent denunciation of Republicans for their religious hypocrisy shows that he can detonate a viral moment with the best of them.
He’s likable, clearly very smart, has a vision, can articulate it, and a lot of people from all different philosophical backgrounds will appreciate that he’s a veteran. It’s a very positive distinguisher in this field.
NEWS RADIO WFLA: Thoughts On Night #2
The other standout candidate from Night #2 was Pete Buttigieg, who offered up substantive answers with a calm, cool demeanor throughout the debate. He was the only candidate either night to mention religion and rural America, and he took responsibility for his failures as a mayor in creating a more diverse police force in South Bend.
CNN: CNN Newsroom With Poppy Harlow and Jim Sciutto
David Gergen: [Mayor Pete] relates much better to the younger generation... And I think showing vulnerability and showing some humility, that was very appealing to that age group.
Jewish Journal: The Most Powerful Line of the Year
In a line that ought to resonate in all civics classrooms and enter the pantheon of our political discourse, Buttigieg looked at us and said, simply: “I couldn’t get it done.” The idea of a politician admitting failure so publicly was so disruptive to the prefabricated media drama of candidates battling each other that it slipped by like a ship in the night.
CNN: CNN Newsroom With Brooke Baldwin
Brett O’Donnell: Mayor Pete was able to have a moment of vulnerability. I think that he will get a lot of credit from everyone in the audience for that.
MSNBC: MSNBC Live
Jacqueline Alemany: Just in the makeup room before I came up here, the makeup artists were talking about how it was so refreshing that he was so honest and took accountability. It's not something we see often [...]
On Twitter:
On Point NPR @OnPointRadio .@JackBeattyNPR on Mayor Pete Buttigieg taking responsibility: "That was a moment of rare grace. We don't hear that from our politicians. They make mistakes like the rest of us, they never admit them. Mr. Trump. notably, but not just him..."
Glynda Carr @glyndacarr .@PeteButtigieg effectively brought his faith to #demdebate and proposed a faith in action approach.
David Cantinese @DavidCantinese @PeteButtigieg’s answer on how he couldn’t diversify his police dept. was the most refreshing and honest answer of the night.
Exavier Pope @exavierpope Saying I was wrong worked for Mayor Pete
Andy Lassner @andylassner Worked last night. Just watched the whole debate. Not that my opinion matters, but @KamalaHarris and @PeteButtigieg both made me feel like I’d sleep well at night if they were in the White House.
Sean Shaw @SShawFL The answer that @PeteButtigieg gave re: the tragedy in his commmunity encapsulates everything I like about him...smart, thoughtful, honest, and authentic. #demdebate #teampete #democraticdebate
