MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski argued Monday morning that Democratic White House hopeful Pete Buttigieg’s “age and experience” may raise doubts in the minds of voters who are “done” with President Trump, or “never were with Trump,” particularly focusing on handling a crisis abroad, such as the current tension with Iran.
“Even though in many ways those who have studied him closely might find him to be tremendously qualified and maybe more qualified than most candidates in terms of knowledge, but he’s 37? Is he 37? His age?” Brzezinski, a staunch supporter of former Vice President Joe Biden, asked.
“37. Mayor of the fourth largest city [in Indiana],” confirmed The Associated Press’s Jonathan Lemire.
The discussion on “Morning Joe” came during a discussion of the former South Bend, Ind., mayor’s sharp drop in a recent Des Moines Register/CNN poll that showed Buttigieg at 16 percent, which is 9 points lower than a survey taken in November. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) now leads in the Iowa poll with 20 percent support, followed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) at 17 percent.
“In the middle of this Iran crisis, I think people ultimately are not really looking at who he’s married to,” Brzezinski added, referring to the fact that Buttigieg is the only openly gay candidate in the 2020 Democratic field. “Looking at age and they — just at this point, if you’re done with Trump, or you never were with Trump, you don’t want to make another mistake again. I think age plays into that. Age and experience.”
Buttigieg currently sits at 7.7 percent in the RealClearPolitics average of national polls, which places him more than 20 points behind the front-runner, Biden, who has 29.3 percent support.
Sanders and Warren are second and third at 20.3 percent and 14.8 percent, respectively.
Iowa is seen by some political observers as Buttigieg’s best shot of winning among the early voting states.
The Hill has requested comment from Buttigieg’s campaign.