What People Are Saying About Pete Buttigieg’s Winning Debate Performance
“The South Bend Mayor is having a moment” … “The big winner tonight was Mayor Pete” … “Winner”... “Mayor Pete had an exceptional night” … “@PeteButtigieg WON it” … “He's won every exchange on national security” … “Best: 1. Buttigieg” … “Demonstrated again that he is one of the best debaters” … “Buttigieg has been good in the debates, and now he’s got real momentum in the first contest in Iowa” … “He had a really good night” … “He's very talented at deflecting and addressing criticisms” … “Likely to sustain the momentum his campaign has been seeing”
From TV:
Terry McAuliffe on CNN Post-Debate: I think the big winner tonight, I think, was Mayor Pete because everybody talked all day how everybody was going to go after him -- he didn't get touched tonight. So if you're now the leader in Iowa, you're coming out of this debate, we're not going to have another one for a month, that's some pretty good running room.
Claire McCaskill on MSNBC Post-Debate: I think Mayor Pete did have a great night. He showed he could pivot and punch, which you're going to have to be able to do with Donald Trump. In a debate, you're going to have to pivot and punch, and he did that very quickly with Tulsi Gabbard when she went after him with something that was just a bogus attack.
Steve Schmidt on MSNBC Post-Debate: I thought that Mayor Pete had an exceptional night. I think he really demonstrated tonight, in a performance that was pretty flawless, why he has risen into the top tier of candidates.
Claire McCaskill on Morning Joe: I almost wish, in a way, that we could have seen Mayor Pete respond to more incoming. I think he's very talented at deflecting and addressing criticisms. He had a little bit, and I thought he did well when he got those. But you know, we can compare and contrast -- yeah, 11,000 votes as a mayor -- but a member of the intelligence community [...] I think the depth and breadth of his experience in the military, as a small town mayor, that's the kind of stuff that -- you know, people out there don't like Washington, Joe. I know this is a newsflash, I know you get this and a lot of people get this, but Washington is a terrible place to be from right now for most voters. And the fact that he is really one of the few true outsiders in the race, he can work to his advantage as long as he leans heavily on his military experience.
Excerpts:
ABC: Mayor Buttigieg, under pressure as a newly crowned frontrunner, stood tall
ABC: Over the past month since the October debate, Pete Buttigieg, a small-city mayor, has spent his time on the campaign trail cementing his status as a top contender. Wednesday night, the mayor was forced to defend his credentials.
Washington Post: Winners: Pete Buttigieg: Buttigieg has been good in the debates, and now he’s got real momentum in the first contest in Iowa, where a Des Moines Register-CNN poll showed him up nine points there last week. The question has been how he would handle the newfound pressure — and answer questions about whether a young, small-town mayor has the gravitas to win the presidency.”
Vox: Winner: Pete Buttigieg: The South Bend, Indiana, mayor is having a moment ... At Wednesday’s debate, Buttigieg had one goal: keep that momentum going. He succeeded. Throughout the debate, Buttigieg avoided attacks from his high-polling opponents on the debate stage, while using his time to push his message as an outsider and a more moderate candidate who could unite the country.
NBC: “Buttigieg, newly minted front-runner, escapes fifth debate unscathed.”
Pete Buttigieg had a target on his back and no one really even tried to hit it… The only candidate who made a direct attack on the mayor was Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii. But he appeared to win the crowd back to his side and pummeled Gabbard’s question to him as “outlandish,” becoming the first candidate to hit her in a debate for meeting with Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad.
If nothing else, the exchange, in the final moments of the debate, allowed a young candidate best known for being pleasant to bare fangs that many may not have known he had — a warning to those who may consider coming after him next.
The Hill: The debate had some fireworks, but nothing that seemed consequential or viral enough to change the trajectory of the race. That is good news for South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who has been on the rise.
Reuters: When questions came his way, Buttigieg parried the thrusts in a way likely to sustain the momentum his campaign has been seeing over the past several weeks, analysts said.
“He had a really good night,” said David Brock, a longtime Democratic operative and founder of the Super PAC American Bridge, which supports Democratic candidates. “He had never been more under the microscope than he had been tonight.”
Newsweek: Mayor Pete's Enduring Endearment: [...] Buttigieg hit all his talking points, kept his cool, and even managed to squeeze in a line that Forbes had ranked him as "literally the least wealthy person on this stage."
From Twitter:
Chris Cillizza @CillizzaCNN: Best: 1. Buttigieg 2. Yang 3. Klobuchar 4. Warren 5. Biden
Mo Elleithee @MoElleithee: .@PeteButtigieg demonstrated again that he is one of the best debaters in the field. He escaped major criticism, and took almost every opportunity to make his answers about people instead of himself.
Donna Brazile @donnabrazile: Thank you @PeteButtigieg, we know you have a big heart. Tell it. Talk about your faith. And the actions that you have taken to break down barriers. #DemocraticDebate
Matt Lewis @mattklewis: Mayor Pete wins the night--because nothing slowed his momentum. Klobuchar was a strong second.
Tiffany Cross @TiffanyDCross: Gotta say @PeteButtigieg is good on the debate stage. #DemDebate
Philip Klein @philipaklein: Wow, Buttigieg crushed Gabbard on that exchange.
Neera Tanden @neeratanden: Gotta say @PeteButtigieg just killed @TulsiGabbard. Plain and simple.
Sabrina Siddiqui @SabrinaSissiqui: Pete Buttigieg takes Tulsi Gabbard to task over her meeting with Bashar al-Assad: "If you want to talk about experience, let’s talk about judgment … I have enough judgment [that] I would not have sat down with a murderous dictator like that.” #DemDebate
Ameshia Cross @AmeshiaCross: Traditional, Washingtonian experience isn't what is needed to defeat Trump. Americans want someone who can meet the needs of their communities, someone who understands politics is local and someone who has on the ground experience. @PeteButtigieg answered perfectly #DemDebate
Ana Navarro-Cárdenas @ananavaroo: @PeteButtigieg delivered a good zinger: “On This stage, there’s over 100 years of Washington experience, and where has that gotten us?”
Frank Luntz @FrankLuntz: If you want to understand why @PeteButtigieg is surging, just watch his response to Kamala Harris. He was smart, empathetic, emotional… and right. The best 1 minute of tonight’s #DemDebate
Lisa Conley @LNConley: Mayor Pete: "I do sometimes feel like a stranger in my own country," he said, in reference to LGBTQ+ rights. #DemDebate
Naveed Jamali @NaveedAJamali: A genuine answer by @PeteButtigieg about how protecting rights of people, “even if they don’t look like me.” A definitely inspiring moment. #DemocraticDebate
Rep. Carlos G Smith @CarlosGSmith: No one ever really has perfect debate. That being said, @PeteButtigieg WON it. He's surging in IA and NH. Attacks came predictably, but were swatted down hard. Tonight was the night to breakaway. He did it. #DemDebate
Noah Rothman @NoahCRothman: One thing you have to love about Buttigieg: He's won every exchange on national security and he's done so by advocating for an extroverted foreign policy.
Alex Ward @AlexWardVox: Gabbard’s attack on Buttigieg was BS. In context his statement about security cooperation and when he might send troops to Mexico makes complete sense.
Kurt Bardella @kurtbardella: I don’t think I’ve ever seen @PeteButtigieg give a bad answer in a debate ... if he had the chance to take on @realDonaldTrump in a one-on-one debate, I think Pete would absolutely destroy Trump to the point where he would never politically or emotionally recover #DemDebates
