Joe Biden speaks at a campaign event in Manchester, N.H., February 8, 2020. (Carlos Barria/Reuters)

Joe Biden released a new digital ad on Saturday contrasting his record as vice president with Pete Buttigieg’s record as mayor of South Bend, Ind.:

Former Mayor Pete doesn’t think very highly of the Obama-Biden record. Let’s compare. pic.twitter.com/132TB7MHaq — Joe Biden (Text Join to 30330) (@JoeBiden) February 8, 2020

If a Republican had mocked Buttigieg — the first openly gay politician with a serious chance of winning a major party’s presidential nomination—for installing “colorful lights” and “decorative brick,” the backlash would be pretty intense. We’ll see how this works out for Biden.


The official response of the Buttigieg campaign was a measured statement that doesn’t accuse Biden of dog-whistling. “At this moment, the American people are crying out for something completely different from this classic Washington style of politics,” Buttigieg spokesman Chris Meagher said in a statement. “While Washington politics trivializes what goes on in communities like South Bend, South Bend residents who now have better jobs, rising income, and new life in their city don’t think their lives are a Washington politician’s punchline. Pete’s on the ground experience as mayor, turning around a Midwestern industrial city, is exactly why he is running for president. The Vice President’s decision to run this ad speaks more to where he currently stands in this race than it does about Pete’s perspective as a mayor and veteran.”