Former Vice President Joe Biden went after his 2020 rival Pete Buttigieg for lacking experience on the national political stage.
Buttigieg, who is rising in the polls, has been mayor of South Bend, Indiana, for two terms.
Making a case for why he should be the nominee, Biden made the dig during the Democratic debate Wednesday.
“We have to unify this country. I have done it. I have done it repeatedly. And lastly, to be commander in chief, there’s no time for on-the-job training. I’ve spent more time in the situation room, more time abroad, more time than anybody up here. I know every major world leader. They know me, and they know when I speak, if I’m the president of the United States, who we’re for, who we’re against, and what we’ll do, and we’ll keep our word,”
Buttigieg, 37, defended his experience earlier in the night when asked why Democrats should risk betting on him.
“Because I have the right experience to take on Donald Trump,” he said. “I get it’s not traditional establishment Washington experience, but I would argue we need something very different right now. In order to defeat this president, we need somebody who can go toe to toe who actually comes from the kinds of communities that he’s been appealing to. I don’t talk a big game about helping the working class while helicoptering between golf courses with my name on them. I don’t even golf.”
