On Monday, the mainstream media mourned the loss of former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg from the 2020 Democratic field. After former Vice President Joe Biden swept South Carolina, Buttigieg suspended his campaign.
Now that Buttigieg has exited the stage, the mainstream media are crafting the “trailblazing” candidate’s obituary. On MSNBC, Joe Scarborough even compared Buttigieg to George Washington.
“[Buttigieg] made a wise decision, he ran a great campaign, made a wise decision. George Washington won the war because he first became a master of strategic retreats during the Revolutionary War. It’s the same with politics. This was a strategic retreat for Mayor Pete, who ran a great campaign,” Scarborough said.
Scarborough concluded by comparing Buttigieg to Frank Sinatra.
“When they asked Sinatra what made him different from other singers, why he was the greatest, he said, ‘Because I do the 48 best minutes and then I get off the stage.’ Always leave them wanting more. Well, Mayor Pete did a Sinatra routine last night,” Scarborough said.
The Los Angeles Times’s White House Reporter Eli Stokols mourned Buttigieg’s decision to drop out and applauded his campaign.
“Pete was arguably the most talented political athlete in the field — usually called the right play and almost always executed. This decision being the latest example. no real path forward, no reason to drag it out,” Stokols tweeted.
Pete was arguably the most talented political athlete in the field—usually called the right play and almost always executed. This decision being the latest example. No real path forward, no reason to drag it out.
— Eli Stokols (@EliStokols) March 1, 2020
The New York Times also ran an op-ed calling Buttigieg the most “mature” candidate in the field for dropping out.
“The youngest of the Democratic aspirants did the grown-up thing and dropped out,” wrote Frank Bruni for The New York Times. “I can only imagine how bitter that felt, given how high he had flown. And I can only hope that he and the rest of us never minimize that altitude.”
These obituaries come in tandem with the news that Buttigieg is set to endorse Biden. Buttigieg will announce his endorsement alongside Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., at Biden’s Monday night Dallas rally.
