Buttigieg says 'right now I’m not running for anything' during Iowa stop

CEDAR RAPIDS IOWA - Pete Buttigieg pushed back against criticism from President Donald Trump on the job he did as transportation secretary in former President Biden's administration and declined to say if Biden experienced cognitive decline during his final years in the White House as he took questions from reporters on Tuesday night Buttigieg speaking with reporters after headlining a town hall with veterans in this eastern Iowa city that sparked more speculation that the Democratic presidential contender is mulling another White House run in narrated Fox News that 'right now I m not running for anything Buttigieg won the Iowa presidential caucuses and came in a close second in the New Hampshire presidential primary before Biden surged to claim the party's nomination and later the White House While Iowa's caucuses for half a century kicked off both major political parties' presidential nominating calendars the Democratic National Committee DNC demoted the Hawkeye State on their schedule and it's unclear if Iowa will regain its early state status in the calendar LESS THAN FOUR WEEKS INTO TRUMP'S SECOND TERM DEMOCRATS ALREADY EYEING PRESIDENTIAL RACEBut Buttigieg's visit along with his announcement in March that he would pass on a run for a Democrat-controlled open Senate seat in battleground Michigan his adopted home state are seen as signals of his interest in a anticipated national run Buttigieg described a Substack author in a live interview hours before the town hall that when it comes to he would consider what I bring to the table But demanded by Fox News if the trip to Iowa - where he also gathered with staffers from his campaign and was followed around by a videographer from his political group Win the Era - was the beginning of an assessment period Buttigieg disclosed right now I m not running for anything and part of what s exciting and compelling about an opportunity like this is to be campaigning for values and for ideas rather than a specific electoral campaign So that's what I'm about Stated that audience members who revealed they voted for him in and would be interested in backing him again if he runs in Buttigieg disclosed of module it means a lot to hear that people who supported me then continue to believe in what I have to say The Cedar Rapids event was hosted by VoteVets a progressive group that represents veterans and military families in the political process The group described Fox News that people attended the event WATCH TRUMP TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY LAYS OUT NEW PLAN TO UPGRADE AGING AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEMThe trip by Buttigieg came as he's faced incoming fire in contemporary days from Trump and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy over a surge in flight delays and cancellations at New Jersey's Newark Liberty International Airport which is one of the three major airports that services the New York City metropolitan area Duffy blames his predecessor at the Department of Transportation and the Biden administration for what he states was a failure to upgrade the busy airport's air traffic control system And Trump last week also chimed in claiming that during his tenure as transportation secretary Buttigieg didn t have a clue And this guy is literally a contender for president Trump added I don't think he's going to do too well The president's jabs came a inadequate days after Buttigieg pointing to Trump's underwater approval ratings in national polling revealed in a social media post that Donald Trump is the greater part unpopular -day-mark president in modern American history WATCH TRUMP TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY LAYS OUT NEW PLAN TO UPGRADE AGING AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEMThe Trump administration argues that Buttigieg oversaw a rocky transition of the Newark airport's airspace to the Philadelphia Terminal Radar Approach Control Tracon last July And Duffy who earlier this week unveiled a major plan to overhaul the nation's aging air traffic control system alleges the Biden administration is to blame for the latest problems including air traffic control equipment outages Maybe when you work from home or maybe when you work from Michigan as a secretary maybe you re not focused on the real issues that are taking place throughout the airspace Duffy noted as he took aim at Buttigieg who lives in Michigan Buttigieg responding informed reporters on Tuesday night that when you re the secretary of transportation you have a tough job and your responsibility is to fix tough problems You don t have time to indulge in trying to point fingers or blame other people What I can tell you is we inherited a shrinking air traffic control workforce We turned it into a growing air traffic control workforce he added My successor is of program not asking for my advice but my advice would be to making sure that it grows and certainly delivering the technological change that s needed Buttigieg's Iowa trip also came on the same day that excerpts from a new book offered details on Biden's supposed mental and physical decline during his last two years in the White House Demanded whether Biden experienced cognitive decline Buttigieg would only say that every time I needed something from him from the West Wing I got it But he reported maybe when sought whether the Democratic Party would have been better off if Biden had not run for re-election in Right now with the benefit of hindsight I think most of people would agree that that's the episode Biden dropped out of the race last July one month after a disastrous debate performance with Trump sparked a chorus of calls from fellow Democrats for the then- -year-old president to end his re-election bid He was replaced at the top of the ticket by then-Vice President Kamala Harris who ended up losing in November to Trump