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

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA - Pete Buttigieg pushed backmost against disapproval from President Donald Trump connected the occupation helium did arsenic proscription caput successful erstwhile President Biden's medication and declined to accidental if Biden experienced cognitive diminution during his last years successful the White House, arsenic helium took questions from reporters connected Tuesday night.

Buttigieg, speaking with reporters aft headlining a municipality hallway with veterans successful this eastbound Iowa metropolis that sparked much speculation that the 2020 Democratic statesmanlike contender is mulling different White House tally successful 2028, told Fox News that 'right present I’m not moving for anything."

Buttigieg won the 2020 Iowa statesmanlike caucuses and came successful a adjacent 2nd successful the New Hampshire statesmanlike superior earlier Biden surged to assertion the party's information and aboriginal the White House.

While Iowa's caucuses for fractional a period kicked disconnected some large governmental parties' statesmanlike nominating calendars, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) demoted the Hawkeye State connected their 2024 schedule, and it's unclear if Iowa volition regain its aboriginal authorities presumption successful the 2028 calendar.

LESS THAN FOUR WEEKS INTO TRUMP'S SECOND TERM, DEMOCRATS ALREADY EYEING 2028 PRESIDENTIAL RACE

Former U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg headlines a veterans municipality hallway successful Cedar Rapids, Iowa, connected May 13, 2025. Buttigieg's quality sparked speculation helium whitethorn marque different statesmanlike tally successful 2028. (Fox News - Paul Steinhauser)

But Buttigieg's visit, on with his announcement successful March that helium would walk connected a 2026 tally for a Democrat-controlled unfastened Senate spot successful battleground Michigan, his adopted location state, are seen arsenic signals of his involvement successful a imaginable 2028 nationalist run.

Buttigieg told a Substack writer successful a unrecorded interrogation hours earlier the municipality hallway that erstwhile it comes to 2028, helium would see "what I bring to the table."

But asked by Fox News if the travel to Iowa - wherever helium besides gathered with staffers from his 2020 run and was followed astir by a videographer from his governmental radical Win the Era - was the opening of an appraisal period, Buttigieg said "right now, I’m not moving for thing and portion of what’s breathtaking and compelling astir an accidental similar this is to beryllium campaigning for values and for ideas alternatively than a circumstantial electoral campaign. So that's what I'm about."

Told that assemblage members who said they voted for him successful 2020 and would beryllium funny successful backing him again if helium runs successful 2028, Buttigieg said "of people it means a batch to perceive that radical who supported maine past proceed to judge successful what I person to say."

The Cedar Rapids lawsuit was hosted by VoteVets, a progressive radical that represents veterans and subject families successful the governmental process. The radical told Fox News that 1,800 radical attended the event.

WATCH: TRUMP TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY LAYS OUT NEW PLAN TO UPGRADE AGING AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEM

The travel by Buttigieg came arsenic he's faced incoming occurrence successful caller days from Trump and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy implicit a surge successful formation delays and cancellations astatine New Jersey's Newark Liberty International Airport, which is 1 of the 3 large airports that services the New York City metropolitan area.

Duffy blames his predecessor astatine the Department of Transportation and the Biden medication for what helium claims was a nonaccomplishment to upgrade the engaged airport's aerial postulation power system.

And Trump, past week, besides chimed in, claiming that during his tenure arsenic proscription caput Buttigieg "didn’t person a clue. And this feline is really a contender for president?" Trump added. "I don't deliberation he's going to bash excessively well."

The president's jabs came a fewer days aft Buttigieg, pointing to Trump's underwater support ratings successful nationalist polling, said successful a societal media station that "Donald Trump is the astir unpopular 100-day-mark president successful modern American history."

WATCH: TRUMP TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY LAYS OUT NEW PLAN TO UPGRADE AGING AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEM

The Trump medication argues that Buttigieg oversaw a rocky modulation of the Newark airport's airspace to the Philadelphia Terminal Radar Approach Control (Tracon) past July.

And Duffy, who earlier this week unveiled a large program to overhaul the nation's aging aerial postulation power system, claims the Biden medication is to blasted for the caller problems, including aerial postulation power instrumentality outages.

"Maybe erstwhile you enactment from home, oregon possibly erstwhile you enactment from Michigan arsenic a secretary, possibly you’re not focused connected the existent issues that are taking spot passim the airspace," Duffy said, arsenic helium took purpose astatine Buttigieg, who lives successful Michigan.

Buttigieg, responding, told reporters connected Tuesday nighttime that "when you’re the caput of transportation, you person a pugnacious occupation and your work is to hole pugnacious problems. You don’t person clip to indulge successful trying to constituent fingers oregon blasted different people."

"What I tin archer you is we inherited a shrinking aerial postulation power workforce. We turned it into a increasing aerial postulation power workforce," helium added. "My successor is, of course, not asking for my advice, but my proposal would beryllium to making definite that it grows and really delivering the technological alteration that’s needed."

Then-President Joe Biden speaks astatine the State Department, during the closing days of his presidency, connected Jan. 13, 2025. (AP)

Buttigieg's Iowa travel besides came connected the aforesaid time that excerpts from a caller publication offered details connected Biden's expected intelligence and carnal diminution during his past 2 years successful the White House.

Asked whether Biden experienced cognitive decline, Buttigieg would lone accidental that "every clip I needed thing from him from the West Wing, I got it." 

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But helium said "maybe" erstwhile asked whether the Democratic Party would person been amended disconnected if Biden had not tally for re-election successful 2024. "Right present with the payment of hindsight, I deliberation astir radical would hold that that's the case."

Biden dropped retired of the contention past July, 1 period aft a disastrous statement show with Trump sparked a chorus of calls from chap Democrats for the then-81-year-old president to extremity his re-election bid. He was replaced astatine the apical of the summons by then-Vice President Kamala Harris, who ended up losing successful November to Trump.