Buttigieg won’t say if Biden should run in 2024

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on Sunday sidestepped a question on whether he wants President Biden to run for a second White House term in 2024, lauding the president’s accomplishments but saying he “can’t talk campaigns.” 

“Do you want him to run? Do you want him to run again?” host Jonathan Karl asked Buttigieg on ABC’s “This Week,” highlighting recent polling data that suggests Democrats may not want another four years with Biden.

“He is an absolutely historically successful president, and I want to see that continue,” Buttigieg said of Biden.

“When I’m appearing in this capacity, I can’t talk campaigns and elections. But let me say this: I’m incredibly proud to be a part of this team that he has built and to be part of the results that he is delivering,” the Transportation secretary added. 

The ABC News-Washington Post poll, released Sunday, found Americans weren’t enthusiastic about the possibility of 2024 run from either Biden or his predecessor, former President Trump, who has already announced his campaign.

A little over half — 58 percent — of Democrats and Democrat-leaning independents in the poll said they’d prefer someone other than Biden as their party’s nominee for the next presidential election.

Asked on Sunday how soon he thinks Biden will announce his widely expected 2024 bid, Buttigieg said, “That’s out of my lane and above my pay grade at the same time.” 

Buttigieg touted the current administration’s success, including “the biggest infrastructure package since Eisenhower” and “the most significant economic achievement package since FDR.”

“We’re just two years in. So what he’s — what he’s achieved is extraordinary. And when I see tongues wagging about polls and this sort of thing, I can’t help but think about, you know, the tongues that were wagging in October,” he said.

“One thing this president has done again and again and again, whether it’s politically or whether it’s policywise, is defy expectations,” he added.