Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in an interview with NPR on Monday that the Democratic Party needs to move on from its “failing” status quo.
Buttigieg said in an interview with NPR’s “Morning Edition” that he thinks Democrats have been “too attached to a status quo that has been failing us for a long time.” His comments come as some Democrats have been calling for new leadership in their party as they seek to win back voters in the 2026 midterm elections and 2028 presidential election.
“You’ve got an administration that is burning down so many of the most important institutions that we have in this country, which is wrong,” Buttigieg said in the interview with NPR. “It is also wrong to imagine that we should have just kept everything going along the way it was.” (RELATED: Charlamagne Tells Pete Buttigieg His ‘Biggest Problem With Democrats’ To His Face)
ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA – OCTOBER 15: U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg speaks to reporters after a groundbreaking ceremony for the Long Bridge Project at the Long Bridge Aquatic Center on October 15, 2024 in Arlington, Virginia. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Buttigieg also said that Democrats need to be more “unsentimental” about “the things that don’t work,” and “fearless about the things that do work.” The former Transportation Secretary added that there is currently a perception that Democrats “became so focused on identity” in the 2024 election cycle that the party “no longer had a message that could actually speak to people across the board.”
In May, Buttigieg claimed that “most people would agree” that former President Joe Biden’s 2024 presidential run may have harmed the Democratic Party. Similarly, Buttigieg has previously criticized Democrats’ handling of certain issues under the Biden administration, such as the southern border crisis and rampant inflation.
Buttigieg served as Transportation Secretary under the Biden administration from 2021 to 2025, and previously ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020. He is rumored to be a prospective 2028 presidential candidate, previously saying he would “assess” a potential 2028 White House run.
In March, Buttigieg announced that he is not running for Michigan’s open Senate seat in 2026, fueling speculation that he may launch a presidential campaign in 2028.
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