Pete Buttigieg’s stint as Transportation Secretary was a master class in failure: a case study in the perils of hiring for DEI optics instead of competence. His tenure was riddled with fiascos that snarled travel and undermined public trust. Holiday airline meltdowns, a prolonged supply chain crisis, the toxic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, and his absurd fixation on “racist” roads and bridges all painted the same picture: a leader in title only.
The Ohio disaster laid his shortcomings bare. His department’s sluggish response and refusal to take responsibility outraged Americans across the political spectrum. Buttigieg’s decision to avoid visiting the site until after Donald Trump showed up and stole the spotlight perfectly captured his lack of urgency, judgment, and understanding of what real leadership demands.
Yet Buttigieg is clearly looking to make another bid for the presidency.
On the surface, he may appear to be in a strong position. According to a recent Emerson poll, Buttigieg eclipsed Kamala Harris as the top contender for the Democratic Party presidential nomination. Yet this polling strength masks a harsh reality: despite leading the pack with 16% support, Buttigieg suffers from near-zero support among black voters, a critical Democratic constituency.
A panel discussed the poll on a recent episode of “Real Time with Bill Maher.”
“Democratic primary voters, 16% would support Buttigieg,” Maher noted. “That’s the highest of any candidate, Pete Buttigieg.”
ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith immediately pushed back. “I don’t believe it,” he said. “I think that, I think that’s just a poll number. I can’t see that happening.”
Maher pressed the point. “Well, okay, but wait. Sixteen percent. Black voters, zero. Zero. You don’t usually see zero anywhere. Zero’s low.”
Naturally, Maher wanted to know why Buttigieg wasn’t getting any support from black voters.
“Explain that. I mean, uh, uh, uh, why, why do black voters have this l— I mean, he’s a nice guy?”
Smith didn’t hesitate. “He doesn’t move us. I respect the man. I’ve interviewed him before. Very nice man, highly intelligent, but you gotta be able to move us, bro. He doesn’t move us. You can speculate as to why that is. I’m not going there. He doesn’t move us.”
2028 Democrat hopeful Pete Buttigieg is polling at 0% with black voters.
— Eric Matheny 🎙️ (@ericmmatheny) August 10, 2025
Zero.
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In 2020, Buttigieg also struggled to achieve support from black Democrats. In the South Carolina primary, polling showed him getting 0% support from black voters as well. That the same trend is happening again tells us that no matter how well he polls overall, there are significant struggles
The question isn’t if Pete Buttigieg will run — polls suggest he will — but whether he can overcome the glaring weakness that’s dogged him since 2020: his failure to win over black voters. That deficit hasn’t budged in years, and in a Democratic primary, it’s a political death sentence. Without a major shift, his candidacy is DOA. No amount of campaign stops, polished soundbites, or even his new beard will change the fact that he can’t unite a vital part of his party’s base, turning another run from a bold gamble into a near-certain failure.
