Buttigieg says voters have transferred their concerns about age to Trump

Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg said Sunday that with incumbent Joe Biden out of the presidential race, concerns about acuity have shifted onto Republican nominee Donald Trump — and that the comparison with Kamala Harris is not flattering.

In response to questions about whether Harris was aware of Biden’s fitness, Buttigieg told host Shannon Bream on “Fox News Sunday” that the 78-year-old former president “desperately” wishes he was still running against Biden now that the Democratic Party has put forward Harris, who is nearly two decades younger than Trump.

Following Biden’s exit, Trump is now the oldest presidential nominee in U.S. history.

“I’m pretty sure voters are worried about the age and acuity of President Trump compared to Kamala Harris,” Buttigieg said. “How could anybody not watch the stuff he’s saying, the rambling on the trail, and not be just a little bit concerned?”

Whether Buttigieg's theory was grounded in actual research or just hopeful thinking did not deter him from criticizing the three-time GOP nominee. He drew a stark contrast between Democrats and Republicans, taking aim at “Trump’s personality cult” for describing him as capable of leading despite “rambling about electrocuting sharks and Hannibal Lecter .” Buttigieg also praised Biden for taking the “extraordinary, historic, selfless choice” of bowing out of the race.

“They say he’s strong as an ox, leaps tall buildings in a single bounds. We don’t have that kind of warped reality on our side,” Buttigieg said of Trump. “On the contrary, the president confronted that reality in what must have been one of the most difficult decisions for an American president to make ever.”

“And he did something that I don’t think Donald Trump could even conceive of doing, which is putting his own interests aside for the country,” he added.

In a statement, Trump campaign Communications Director Steven Cheung defended the former president as having “more energy and more stamina than anyone in politics.”

“Pete Boot-Edge-Edge should keep his mouth shut and stay in his narrow line because the last time anyone checked, he was pounded in the Democrat primary in 2020, embarrassing himself,” Cheung wrote.

The Democratic Party has been quick to coalesce around Harris, who has shrunk Biden’s polling gap with Trump and is, at least for now, performing better than Biden among independents, people of color, women, and voters under 35. Republicans, including Trump, have struggled in attempts to develop a consistent line of attack against the vice president, calling her a “radical, left lunatic” and some insulting her on the basis of identity.

House GOP leaders, however, have privately urged lawmakers to criticize Harris’ record without referencing her race and gender after members called her a “DEI” pick, POLITICO reported.

Meanwhile, the Harris campaign has, too, changed its messaging. In a departure from the Biden campaign’s focus on Trump as a “threat to democracy,” her team has branded Trump and his running mate, JD Vance, as “weird” — a move signaling attempts at a younger and relatable tone in contrast to the president’s approach.

In a “Statement on a 78-Year-Old Criminal’s Fox News Appearance” last week, the Harris campaign specifically hit Trump on his age, providing a list of takeaways from his Fox News interview that included the bullet point: “Trump is old and quite weird?”

Even Trump’s supporters agree that the former president is facing a tougher race with Biden off the ticket, with some conceding that age not being an issue for Harris, who is 59, may give Democrats a bump.

Trump campaign Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt pushed back in a statement, saying: “It's not about age, it's about competence, and Kamala Harris has proven to be just as incompetent and ineffective as Joe Biden.”

“President Trump is stronger than ever as proven by his relentless work ethic and remarkable resolve following the gruesome attempt on his life,” Leavitt wrote.

Buttigieg, who is being floated as one of Harris’ potential vice presidential contenders, has taken to the airwaves to praise the Harris campaign while leveling sharp criticisms of Trump and Vance. Although the secretary is open to the role and campaigning throughout Michigan, Harris confidants and allies have told POLITICO they are skeptical of his chances and view him as a longshot.