Pete Buttgieg campaigns for President Biden in Minnesota as more Democrats call on president to exit race
NORTH ST. PAUL, Minn. — U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg made a campaign stop for President Joe Biden's re-election effort in Minnesota on Friday as concerns about the president's age persist and more Democrats call for him to exit the race.
Buttigieg, who was campaigning in a personal capacity, joined Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan and other supporters for a roundtable at the North St. Paul VFW to discuss veterans issues and tout the administration's work to help people who've served in the military.
He drew a contrast between former President Trump andMr. Biden, whose late son, Beau, served in the Delaware Army National Guard and deployed to Iraq, and praised the expansion of veteran health care benefits under the PACT Act.
The event in Minnesota comes one day after the president's high-stakes press conference at the NATO Summit, where he fielded reporter questions for an hour.
There, Mr. Biden again vowed to stay in the race, despite calls from a growing list of elected Democrats who say he should step aside following a dismal debate performance two weeks ago.
"The President of the United States reminded the country how much our alliances matter, what it takes to actually secure this country, and explain that in terms of everything from military relationships to industrial policy," Buttigieg said Friday of Mr. Biden's remarks Thursday night. "That's the kind of leader that we want and need for our military, for our national security, for our military families, and for our veterans."
So far 20 Democratic members of Congress have publicly said Biden should drop out as the party's presumptive nominee. Minnesota's U.S. Rep. Angie Craig is part of that coalition, and her campaign told WCCO her position did not change after Thursday's news conference.
National polls show a close race between the current and former presidents. CBS News polling data in battleground states show Mr. Biden does not lead in any of those places, which are crucial to an Electoral College victory, though many of the surveys are within the margin of error.
A majority of voters in Minnesota have not chosen a Republican nominee for president since Richard Nixon in 1972. But recently two nonpartisan election forecasters downgraded Minnesota from "likely" to "lean Democratic," showing the race is more competitive here.
"One of my favorite things about a campaign is it brings people together who would not otherwise get to know each other, but who share a cause—in this case, the cause of making sure that the President Biden returns to office and that we're able to continue by the way, not just holding off some really bad stuff, building on some really good stuff," Buttigieg said.
