Kamala Harris says Pete Buttigieg would have been ideal running mate if she was a straight white man

Former US vice president Kamala Harris has offered some insight into her selection process for a running mate in last year’s Presidential election, including sharing her thoughts on gay politician Pete Buttigieg.

Kamala Harris, who served as vice president under Joe Biden, took up the Democratic ticket after Biden eventually backed out of the race last July follow increasing pressure to do so. It gave Harris only 107 days to mount a campaign head of November’s election.

In a new excerpt from her forthcoming memoir, 107 Days, Harris said that Buttigieg, who went up against Biden and Harris for the Democratic presidential nomination in the 2020 election and later became Biden’s Transportation Secretary, “would have been an ideal partner – if I were a straight white man.”

The passage, as seen by The Atlantic, goes on to show that Harris thought running with a gay man was risky. “We were already asking a lot of America: to accept a woman, a Black woman, a Black woman married to a Jewish man,” she allegedly writes. “Part of me wanted to say, Screw it, let’s just do it. But knowing what was at stake, it was too big of a risk.”

She then adds, “And I think Pete also knew that – to our mutual sadness.”

According to the Atlantic, Harris saw Buttigieg as her top running mate candidate. “He is a sincere public servant with the rare talent of being able to frame liberal arguments in a way that makes it possible for conservatives to hear them,” she says of Buttigieg.

“I love Pete. I love working with Pete. He and his husband, Chasten, are friends,” she goes on to say. She later chose Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.

Since last year’s election Buttigieg has continued to showcase his skill as a public speaker and, as Harris notes, his ability to communicate to conservative audiences.

One such occasion was Buttigieg’s appearance on the Flagrant podcast in April. The podcast is considered part of the ‘manosphere’ that is credited with helping Donald Trump win a second term.

After talking about his “humbling” experience adopting and raising children, as well as his own politics, Buttigieg earned praise from the podcast’s audience.

One self-proclaimed conservative commented, “I see Pete in a completely different light now: very wholesome. Even though our views don’t always align, he is a great husband, dad and representative.”

A July poll suggested Buttigieg was the favourite potential Democrat Party nominee ahead of the 2028 US election.

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