A lack of enthusiasm from one’s own base is never an indicator of positive, forthcoming events for any politician. No matter what side of the aisle they’re on, politicians running for office need to have a strong base of supporters, amongst other things, in order to achieve their goal of getting elected.
Right now, former South Bend mayor and 2020 Democrat Pete Buttigieg is attempting to maintain political momentum. Buttigieg has managed to snag some campaign endorsements from Hollywood celebrities; however, his run for office also faces adverse impacts from the negative press surrounding his inability to appeal to minority Democrats.
“Pete Buttigieg” (CC BY-SA 2.0) by Gage Skidmore
Buttigieg is doing better than many other candidates, but he’s still a far cry from reaching frontrunner status. This was made abundantly clear on Tuesday during the Democrat candidate’s campaign event in Mount Pleasant, Iowa. After preaching the merits of “better hands held by better values,” Buttigieg was forced to beg his audience to “come on” and clap for him, as documented by Breitbart News.
“Come On!” vs. “Please Clap!”
Buttigieg’s appeal for his audience to respond with something other than silence is strongly reminiscent of the “please clap” moment that Jeb Bush had in 2016 when running for office.
When speaking to his audience, the moment of dull silence came when the former South Bend mayor asked his supporters to “spread the sense of hope” to others in their lives. The silence that followed was deafening. Awkwardly, Buttigieg laughed, saying “come on!” to which a few people clapped and shook their Pete 2020 signs. This moment was cringeworthy, to say the least, with many observers feeling secondhand embarrassment.
As to be expected, footage of the incident quickly made rounds on social media:
Social media users also didn’t hesitate to draw the parallel between Tuesday’s incident and that of Jeb Bush’s during the 2016 presidential election:
Final Days in Iowa
Like many other Democrat candidates, Buttigieg is doing all he can to drum up as much support in Iowa, prior to the state’s caucuses. This is why the ex-South Bend mayor is parroting talking points about “not settling” and the 2020 election being “not about [him],” but about the voters.
“Pete Buttigieg” (CC BY-SA 2.0) by Gage Skidmore
It’s critical to note that Buttigieg has made the aforementioned statements on the campaign trails time and time again; however, Iowa is important to him which explains the considerable time that Buttigieg is investing in this state.
Like the former South Bend mayor, fellow rival Joe Biden is also campaigning in Iowa. At this time, Biden is ahead of Buttigieg by a considerable amount of points; only time will tell how well each candidate does in the Iowa caucuses.
Do you think Pete Buttigieg will continue having to beg audiences to applaud and cheer after he speaks? Let us know in the comments section below!
