Sep 18, 2025 - Politics & Policy

Buttigieg "surprised" at Harris' reason for not making him her VP pick

Rebecca Falconer

Former Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, who has black hair that's peppered with gray and who is wearing a navy jacket with a gold pin, a white shirt and dark blue tie, puts his hands to his mouth as he stairs ahead at a mic on a desk while testifying at the U.S. Capitol. — Former Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg at the U.S. Capitol last year. Photo: Kent Nishimura/Getty Images

Pete Buttigieg expressed surprise Thursday at former Vice President Kamala Harris' assertion in her upcoming book that it would've been too risky to have a Black woman and a gay man running on the same 2024 ticket.

Context: Harris wrote that the Biden administration transportation secretary was her "first choice" and "would have been an ideal partner — if I were a straight white man," per an excerpt of her book, published in The Atlantic on Wednesday, outlining why she ultimately picked Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) as her running mate.

What he's saying: "I was surprised when I read that; I just believe in giving Americans more credit," Buttigieg told Politico.

"My experience in politics has been that the way that you earn trust with voters is based mostly on what they think you're going to do for their lives, not on categories," the former 2020 Democratic presidential candidate said.
The 43-year-old former South Bend, Indiana, mayor noted that his home state "turned blue for the first time" since Lyndon B. Johnson under former President Obama in 2008.
"My personal experience getting re-elected, you just have to go to voters with what you think you can do for them. That's what I'm hearing right now," Buttigieg added. "Politics is about the results we can get for people, and not about all these other things."

Zoom out: Buttigieg has been considering a possible 2028 presidential bid after ruling out running in Michigan's gubernatorial or Senate races next year, though he's said "any kind of decision process there is a long way off."

Go deeper: Harris says Buttigieg was her "first choice" for running mate

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Buttigieg "surprised" at Harris' reason for not making him her VP pick

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