Culture

“I was surprised”: Pete Buttigieg reacts to Kamala Harris’ VP pick confession

By Jordan Robledo

20th September 2025

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Pete Buttigieg has shared his reaction to Kamala Harris revealing he was her first VP candidate pick. 

On 23 September, the former US Vice President will be dropping her new book, 107 Days, which offers an “unfiltered look at the pressures, triumphs, and heartbreaks” of her 2024 presidential campaign.

Ahead of its release, The Atlantic shared an excerpt from the upcoming memoir, in which Harris discusses the decision-making process she used to choose her running mate.

As we know, the 60-year-old politician picked Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. However, in the book, she revealed that Buttigieg was her first choice, describing him as an “ideal partner” if she were a straight white man.

“But we were already asking a lot of America: to accept a woman, a Black woman, a Black woman married to a Jewish man,” she wrote.

“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. And I think Pete also knew that – to our mutual sadness.”

On 18 September, a day after the excerpt was released, Buttigieg shared his reaction to Harris’ candid revelation during an interview with POLITICO.

 

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“I was surprised when I read that. I just believe in giving Americans more credit than that,” the former Transportation secretary told the news outlet.

“You know, my experience in politics has been that the way that you earn trust with voters is based mostly on what they think you’re going to do for their lives, not on categories. And I wouldn’t have run for president if I didn’t believe that.

Toward the end of his statement, Buttigieg expressed the importance of politicians going to voters “with what you think you can do for them.”

“Politics is about the results we can get for people and not about these other things,” he added.

In 2021, Buttigieg made history as the first openly gay Cabinet secretary in US history when he was confirmed as the Secretary of Transportation during Joe Biden’s presidency. He’s also the youngest person ever to hold the position.

Watch his full interview with POLITICO below.