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Pete Buttigieg Featured On Time Magazine Cover — Campaign Described As ‘Unlikely’ In Subtitle

Matt M. Miller Contributor
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Democratic 2020 presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg and his husband, Chasten, were featured on the cover of Time Magazine Thursday.

The cover’s headline reads “First Family” with a photo of the South Bend, Indiana, mayor and his husband are standing next to each other. Beneath “First Family” reads: “The unlikely, untested and unprecedented campaign of Mayor Pete Buttigieg.”

The more-than-4,000-word Time Magazine article opens with an anecdote from Buttigieg’s 2020 campaign trail when a right-winger dressed as the devil interrupted and heckled the candidate’s speech. He reportedly said while in character, “Pete. You’re sooo smart, Pete,” then whispering, “I want the heartland, Pete.”

The article claims that the man in the devil costume “is hardly the only right-winger worried about the rise of ‘Mayor Pete’,” then siting the recent false sexual assault allegations from Jacob Wohl, which were directed at Buttigieg to hurt his campaign.

Soon after, the article says that for some Americans, “Buttigieg may just be the man to vanquish America’s demons,” harking on the importance of Buttigieg’s age relative to his competition, claiming that Democrats are looking for “a generational change” noting that “the two front runners are more than twice his age,” referring to Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders.

Time then addresses one of Buttigieg’s biggest hurdles, connecting with black and Hispanic voters, whom the article accurately says “have so far appeared unimpressed with his campaign.” (RELATED: Is Buttigieg Gay Enough To Make Up For His White Male Privilege? The Left Can’t Decide)

Another of Buttigieg’s struggles may come from the way he differs from President Donald Trump, the article says, and that his success will depend on whether Democrats want someone to mirror Trump’s temperament or a complete change.

“In many ways, Buttigieg is Trump’s polar opposite: younger, dorkier, shorter, calmer and married to a man,” the article reads.

Buttigieg told Time in reference to Trump, “People already have a leader who screams and yells. How do you think that’s working out for us?”

The article takes a bite out of Buttigieg’s platform, saying that his slogan, “Freedom, Security and Democracy,” isn’t substantive enough to stand with other 2020 Democrats who have proposed detailed hard policy positions in their campaigns. (RELATED: Pete Buttigieg Doesn’t Speak Seven Languages. I Know, Because I Do)

“But in order to maintain his momentum, Buttigieg will have to do more to flesh out those ideas. Unlike many of his opponents, he hasn’t posted any detailed policy proposals on his website,” Time states.

The rest of the article delves into Buttigieg’s biography, recounting his relationship with his husband, where and how he grew up, his education, his struggles against homophobia, and his stint in the military.