Harris-Buttigieg Cat Fight Is All The Talk Of Washington
It’s probably nowhere near as legendary as the epic Klobuchar/Buttigieg cat fights during the 2020 campaign, but a potential Harris/Buttigieg feud still sounds fun. To try and quell the gossip surrounding their rivalry, the girls are going on the road together to tout the so-called success of the infrastructure plan (think Thelma and Louise, but instead of driving off a cliff together, they’re part of the Biden administration).
Via L.A. Times:
Donna Brazile calls the purported rivalry between Vice President Kamala Harris and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg “gossip” and “manufactured BS.”
Here is the theory: The pair of bold names in the Biden administration are vying to be next in line for the party’s nomination, either in 2024 should President Biden, the oldest president in U.S. history at 79, step aside — or in 2028 if he runs again.
Thursday, the two protagonists in this latest Beltway drama will hit the road together. Anyone hoping for a riveting oratorical showdown in Charlotte, N.C., will have to settle for speeches about potholes and rural broadband access. The topic of the day is infrastructure. But rest assured, television analysts will provide authoritative takes on their body language as they tour the Charlotte Area Transit System Bus and Light Rail Garage. Some may note who speaks most passionately about the nation’s deteriorating bridges or who fails to capture the excitement of bus rapid transit lanes.
“I’m sure that it will be dissected aplenty,” said Elaine Kamarck, a former aide to Vice President Al Gore who researches the presidential nominating process at the Brookings Institution think tank. “Whether it means anything is anybody’s guess.”
Republicans have been taking stock as well. “The actuarial reality of President Biden’s age, combined with what some consider a lackluster performance by the vice president, have created an opening,” said Michael Steel, who served as campaign advisor to former House Speaker Paul D. Ryan and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush’s presidential primary runs.
“If you think that there is a possibility that the Democratic Party will require a different nominee in 2024, this is a head-to-head comparison between two of the potential leading contenders,” he said of Thursday’s road trip.
Absent a miracle, I don’t see any scenario in which Biden is re-elected in 2024. The disastrous state of, uhh, literally everything right now in the United States—endless COVID, inflation, the border crisis, health care costs, the homeless crisis, natural disasters and climate change—will be blamed on Biden, making it easy for Trump to stage a comeback. Or, there might even be someone worse than Trump (today it’s “Dr.” Oz’s run for senate in Pennsylvania, tomorrow it’s Ohio Governor MyPillowGuy). So, if Harris and Buttigieg—two of the most unlikable, worthlessly empty politicians of my lifetime—are considered “leading contenders” of the Democratic party, get ready for Trump/DeSantis to be sworn in come January 2025, assuming the United States is even a functioning democracy three years from now.
