2020 presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg: What to know
What to know about Pete Buttigieg and how, despite only two terms as mayor of South Bend, Indiana, he plans to capture the democratic presidential nomination.
NBC News has been mocked for a fawning profile of 2020 presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg, with critics calling it “worse than a glorified press release.”
Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Ind., rose to political stardom in a matter of months, often polling just behind political heavyweights such as former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders.
This led to fawning media coverage, with outlets praising his exemplary resume that includes degrees from Harvard and Oxford universities, military service and a short stint at the famed McKinsey & Company firm.
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The NBC News article on Monday summarized Buttigieg's career as “a data geek to [a] leader with heart.”
“Those who know him and have worked alongside him say Buttigieg, now 37, came into office thinking like a hired-gun consultant, full of big ideas and piles of numbers and studies to transform the city,” the article read.
“Good things started happening right away,” it continued. “Some $200 million in investment poured into downtown, and new condos, offices, parks, restaurants and cafes sprang up.”
“Those who know him and have worked alongside him say Buttigieg, now 37, came into office thinking like a hired-gun consultant, full of big ideas and piles of numbers and studies to transform the city. Good things started happening right away.”
Tim Scott, president of the South Bend Common Council, told the outlet that Buttigieg “was a young dynamic leader with a young dynamic team in place” that “was just being aggressive and proactive, looking at data and looking at new urbanism, the latest and greatest trends in technology, community investment.”
The article was blasted by critics for its overtly positive tone, with Mediaite’s Caleb Howe calling it “worse than a glorified press release; it’s sanctified.”
“There is not a campaign in the world that wouldn’t pay good money for such a loving work of hagiography,” Howe wrote in his critique.
“There is not a campaign in the world that wouldn’t pay good money for such a loving work of hagiography.”
“Our hero, ‘Mayor Pete,’ starts out as brainy, talented, geeky sort. He is data-driven, meaning that he’s very smart and makes decisions based on factual things and numbers and other admirable scientific qualities,” he continued, detailing the issue with the profile.
“After growing up super smart and suffering from the geeky flaw of being too correct, our hero takes a personal journey through heroism and empathy. He learns that people aren’t just figures on a chart whom he helps by improving their lives. They are also individual human beings whom he helps with his fantastic words and touching process of learning and listening.”
Cenk Uygur, a host of the Young Turks, a progressive left channel, also criticized the network for the article, saying it showed media bias.
“This is a pitch perfect example of unacknowledged mainstream media bias. The media never acknowledges their pro-establishment bias. If I was his PR person and wrote this, I'd be embarrassed for how over the top it is in fawning praise of him,” Uygur tweeted.
The NBC News article ended with an instance of Buttigieg penning a letter addressed to the Islamic community following the deadly terror attack in New Zealand.
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“He tweeted it, the letter went viral and people from South Bend and around the world cited it as a pitch-perfect example of understanding and leadership,” the article stated.
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