President Trump predicted Pete Buttigieg ending his presidential bid would help Joe Biden secure the Democratic nomination over Bernie Sanders.
“Pete Buttigieg is OUT. All of his SuperTuesday votes will go to Sleepy Joe Biden. Great timing. This is the REAL beginning of the Dems taking Bernie out of play – NO NOMINATION, AGAIN!” Trump tweeted just minutes after news broke that the former South Bend, Indiana, mayor is expected to end his White House bid.
Pete Buttigieg is OUT. All of his SuperTuesday votes will go to Sleepy Joe Biden. Great timing. This is the REAL beginning of the Dems taking Bernie out of play – NO NOMINATION, AGAIN!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 1, 2020
Sanders, the current front-runner, is seen by many in Trump’s orbit as an easier general election opponent to beat than more moderate Democrats such as the former vice president or former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The Vermont senator, on the other hand, is a self-avowed socialist and rejected any “help” he may receive from Trump and his supporters in an interview on Sunday.
It is not clear if Buttigieg, also a centrist, plans on endorsing another candidate before Super Tuesday, this week’s first major primary voting day with multiple states and a large number of delegates in play. Before dropping out, Buttigieg narrowly won the Iowa caucuses against Sanders and finished a close second behind him in the New Hampshire primary.
A RealClearPolitics average of national polls has Sanders in first place with 29.6% support, followed by Joe Biden with 18.8% support. Bloomberg rounds out the top three with 16.4% support.
