Amy Klobuchar has earned an asterisk next to her ‘Minnesota Nice’ moniker.

That’s primarily because after her drawing a series of sharp contrasts between herself and South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg during Thursday night’s debate millions of viewers have now seen a feisty Midwestern alternative to the millennial candidate on the rise. And it’s all by design.

“Pete gave us the opening,” a top Klobucharworld source said when pressed on the strategy behind the pile-on. “It was a huge gift and opening. She just felt big and up to it and confident.”