In an odd way for someone who’s an Iowa caucus winner and cabinet secretary, because he started so young, @PeteButtigieg has grown up and matured on public view. @merica captures what has been an increasingly important chunk of that for him: being a dad https://t.co/T9tLEGf3Xz — Edward-Isaac Dovere (@IsaacDovere) April 26, 2024 I’m sure it …
Gradual Dawn Open Thread: Pete Buttigieg, Working DadPost + Comments (74)
Buttigieg’s circumstances are also unusual because of the sheer scale and audacity of his one-time public ambition — unrivaled by any member, to date, of his generation. He was the first millennial to mount a credible presidential campaign, and he did so with a confidence that, to his critics, bordered on arrogance. I spent much of 2019 and 2020 bouncing around the country with him, from his breakout performance at a CNN town hall to long swings in Iowa and New Hampshire to more reflective time in his hometown. He ran a campaign defined by sweeping visions of the future, plans to “win the era” — and an extreme pace. “He is somebody who is a really hard worker,” said Smith. “That is one of the reasons he did so well in the presidential race.”
And now? “Having twins helped add a little more balance to his life,” Smith said. “It wasn’t just about himself, wasn’t just about work. It allowed him to focus on something completely different. … Life is so much bigger than him. Life is so much bigger than his political aspirations.”…
Pete Buttigieg always wanted to have children. In his book “Shortest Way Home,” he writes about how, long before he was a parent, he would think to himself that he’d want to “show my kids” something one day. Chasten was on the same page, and the topic came up on their first date. “I remember being like … ‘This is what I’m looking for,’” Chasten told me. “‘If that’s not what you’re looking for, I’m not really interested in driving to Indiana every weekend.’”
The two married in 2018, and Pete announced his presidential run in 2019, quickly becoming the most successful openly gay presidential candidate in history. In an interview with People during the campaign, Pete spoke about wanting to be a dad. “No matter what happens,” he said, “I think the next chapter in our personal lives is going to be about kids.” Yet he campaigned at an intensity that he now admits would have been impossible if he’d actually had them. “At the very least,” he told me, “we couldn’t have done it in the same way. I don’t know if we could have done what we did at all.”…
When we spoke, I asked Pete whether he would run for office again. “The honest answer is I don’t know. And the whole equation is just different,” he said before giving himself some wiggle room: “Not in a way that rules things in or out, but it’s definitely a different set of pros and cons, at least for as long as they’re school age.”
As for those presidential dreams, it seemed clear to me that Pete hadn’t given them up entirely. “I think it was Rahm Emanuel who famously said that the White House is very family-friendly if you’re the first family,” he noted…
The advantage to Buttigieg’s (relative) youth is that he can do what women have always had to do: Step back from his career while the twins are young, and return once they’re old enough to require (slightly) less attention. He can always ask Speaker Emerita Pelosi about that…
And he’s still working hard in Washington!
Sec. Buttigieg: If your flight is canceled, you will now be entitled to a cash refund. This package will also get your money back if the WiFi doesn’t work and provides more transparency on costs
Fox host: You had us at hello. So many times I’ve paid for things like WiFi that… pic.twitter.com/aGAWmzxzOd
— Biden-Harris HQ (@BidenHQ) April 24, 2024
We have a crisis of roadway deaths in this country—and today we’re taking a major step toward addressing this with our new rule on automatic emergency braking. pic.twitter.com/NRS8WJeA6o
— Secretary Pete Buttigieg (@SecretaryPete) April 30, 2024