Is Pete Buttigieg Still a Possible Presidential Candidate?: In military history, losing can be as immortal as winning.
Few will ever forget the First French Empire under Napoleon Bonaparte, and his great nephew Louis Napoleon – Emperor Napoleon III – is remembered as much for his military defeats as any successes.
Likewise, the Axis powers of Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and the Empire of Japan, and their defeats will be remembered for eons.
However, losers in the political arena are another case entirely, and the passage of time is far from kind to those presidential hopefuls who failed to win on Election Day. It is even worse for those who never make it past – or in some cases even to – the primary season.
Former Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) will be remembered for his time in the House of Representatives, but like former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (R-Georgia), few will remember the White House bid of 2012.
The same is true for former Louisiana Governor Buddy Roemer, former Texas Governor Rick Perry, and former U.S. Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman Jr.
Then there are those rising stars like former Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, who has since retired from politics after flaming out quickly.
The Biggest Loser – 2023 Edition
This brings us to Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, who has been touted as the future of the Democratic Party.
An openly gay man who served in the military and as a mayor of a mid-sized city, he has been seen as someone who could unite the progressive and moderate wings of the Democratic Party.
That was of course before the holiday travel debacle that left millions stranded at airports around the country, and just weeks later during problems with the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA’s) flight control systems.
Pete Buttigieg is now under fire for what has been seen as a poor response to the train derailment and environmental catastrophe in East Palestine, Ohio.
Instead of unifying the Democratic Party, Buttigieg has managed to bring together politicians from the right and left wings in criticizing his handling of the crisis.
He is also facing an inspector general audit for his use of government planes since taking charge of the Department of Transportation (DoT).
The audit was originally requested by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) who has since called for Buttigieg’s resignation over his handling of the train derailment in East Palestine, Politico reported.
However, Pete Buttigieg has defended his use of government aircraft.
“Glad this will be reviewed independently so misleading narratives can be put to rest,” Buttigieg explained via a tweet.
“Bottom line: I mostly fly on commercial flights, in economy class. And when I do use our agency’s aircraft, it’s usually a situation where doing so saves taxpayer money.”
Pete Buttigieg: Presidential Candidate – Not a Chance
Though this travel audit isn’t likely to result in a “Travelgate” level scandal, it is yet another issue for the once-rising star. Pete Buttigieg is in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons while he has been cast into the shadows the rest of the time
It would be hard enough to move on from any one of these issues, but combined, the former South Bend, Indiana mayor has no political capital left.
As a result, he’ll likely be relegated to the footnotes of history at best. For those asking, “Is Pete Buttigieg still a possible presidential candidate,” the answer is a resounding “no!”
His star has already burned out.
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Author Experience and Expertise:
A Senior Editor for 19FortyFive, Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu.
