Targeted By Trump, Well-known Democrat Sparks 2028 Speculation With Stop In Key State

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA – Pete Buttigieg returned Tuesday to Iowa, nan authorities that boosted him from longshot to important contender for nan 2020 Democratic statesmanlike nomination. 

Buttigieg’s travel – wherever he headlined a municipality hallway pinch veterans – is judge to substance speculation that he’s earnestly eyeing a 2028 statesmanlike run. The erstwhile South Bend, Indiana mayor, 2020 White House contender, and four-year Transportation Secretary nether erstwhile President Joe Biden, has remained a salient fig successful Democratic circles.

"It feels really bully to beryllium backmost successful Iowa. Anyone tin travel to Iowa conscionable earlier an predetermination is coming up," Buttigieg said astatine nan municipality hall, which was his first nationalist governmental quality since nan extremity of nan Biden administration.

Pointing to his 2020 caucus victory, Buttigieg elicited large cheers. And he said that: "I wanted to make judge I had a chance to talk pinch nan group I sewage to cognize 5 aliases six years ago, and group I'm seeing for nan very first time."

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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 he whitethorn make different statesmanlike tally successful 2028. (Fox News - Paul Steinhauser)

Buttigieg didn't bring up 2028 successful his comments, and wasn't asked astir a imaginable 2nd White House tally arsenic he took questions from nan assemblage astatine nan municipality hall, which was hosted by VoteVets, a progressive governmental statement that useful to assistance veterans and subject families. The group told Fox News that astir 1,800 group packed nan event.

Buttigieg told a Substack writer successful a unrecorded question and reply hours earlier nan municipality hallway that erstwhile it comes to 2028, he would see "what I bring to nan table."

During his 24 hours successful nan Hawkeye State, Buttigieg besides gathered pinch staffers from his 2020 run and was followed astir by a videographer from his governmental group Win nan Era.

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Asked by Fox News if the travel to Iowa was nan opening of a 2028 appraisal period, Buttigieg said "right now, I’m not moving for thing and portion of what’s breathtaking and compelling astir an opportunity for illustration this is to beryllium campaigning for values and for ideas alternatively than a circumstantial electoral campaign. So that's what I'm about."

A fistful of those successful nan crowd interviewed by Fox News said they supported Buttigieg successful nan 2020 caucuses and would beryllium willing successful backing him again if he runs successful 2028.

VoteVets, nan governmental group that organized a municipality hallway successful Cedar Rapids, Iowa connected May 13, 2025 that was headlined by Pete Buttigieg, says astir 1,800 group attended. (Fox News - Paul Steinhauser)

"I’m present because I travel from a agelong statement of veterans. I person 3 family members who are presently moving astatine nan VA infirmary successful Iowa City. So, I’m present to show support," said Faith Hunt of Cedar Rapids. "I loved Pete successful 2020, and I’m excited to spot that he’s campaigning and dream to spot that he runs again."

And Chris Bzdill of Cedar Rapids said, "I really liked to perceive what he had to say…It’s a very refreshing change. It seems logical and straightforward."

And he added, "I'm benignant of hoping that this progresses more, and we’ll spot wherever it goes."

Buttigieg, pointing to those comments, said, "of people it intends a batch to perceive that group who supported maine past proceed to judge successful what I person to say."

The travel by Buttigieg to Iowa comes little than 4 months into President Donald Trump's 2nd circuit of work successful nan White House.

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And it comes arsenic nan Democratic Party's favorable ratings successful nationalist polls person plummeted to all-time lows while an progressively angry and energized statement guidelines is anxious to push backmost against Trump's sweeping and arguable moves during his 2nd administration.

Democrats are already fixated connected adjacent year's midterm elections, erstwhile nan statement hopes to triumph backmost majorities successful nan House and perchance nan Senate from nan Republicans. And Democrats are besides already looking up to nan 2028 statesmanlike campaign, and for imaginable contenders to commencement making early moves.

While Iowa's caucuses for half a period kicked disconnected some awesome governmental parties' statesmanlike nominating calendars, nan Democratic National Committee (DNC) demoted nan Hawkeye State connected their 2024 schedule. 

Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg greets members of nan assemblage on nan ropeline pursuing a municipality hallway pinch veterans, connected May 13, 2025 successful Cedar Rapids, Iowa.   (Fox News - Paul Steinhauser)

But Buttigieg's visit, on pinch his announcement successful March that he 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 liking successful a imaginable 2028 nationalist run.

Buttigieg, who, dissimilar galore different apical Democrats, often appeared connected nan Fox News Channel during his 4 years successful nan Biden administration, has spent nan opening months of nan 2nd Trump management making TV appearances, but besides joining highly visible podcasts.

"We’re trying retired respective different formats — municipality halls, Q&As pinch different group connected his societal media, going retired to podcasts and shows some governmental and non-political, and much — to effort to scope group wherever they are, some in-person and online," Buttigieg advisor Chris Meagher told Fox News up of nan event.

Buttigieg, during nan municipality hall, noted that "there are each these sources of accusation that our friends who deliberation otherwise than we do astir authorities are getting accusation from, that, frankly, are not taxable to nan editorial standards of a newspaper. And that makes it each nan much important to get successful location and coming a different measurement of looking things."

Buttigieg is simply a veteran, having served six years successful nan Navy Reserves arsenic an intelligence officer. During his clip successful nan service, Buttigieg deployed for six months to nan warfare successful Afghanistan.

"This was not your emblematic Democratic rally because of nan assemblage we were capable to build and nan messenger we had. These were center-right subject families and veterans who want to travel location to nan Democratic Party, VoteVets spokesperson Matt Corridoni told Fox News.

Pointing to Iowa, a one-time battleground authorities that's turned reddish complete nan past decade, Buttigieg acknowledged during nan municipality hallway that "Democrats do not person nan champion marque astir here."

And he told reporters that "I deliberation it’s really important to beryllium successful communities for illustration this, to beryllium successful reddish states, to beryllium successful agrarian areas. It’s truthful important for Democrats to person a vocabulary to beryllium capable to scope out, and you can’t manner that vocabulary online aliases only talking to group who already work together pinch you."

Buttigieg heavy criticized nan actions of nan 2nd Trump management successful his comments during nan municipality hall, but he besides emphasized that Democrats aiming to flight nan governmental wilderness must spotlight their ain ideas.

"There’s this mentation that we should conscionable bent backmost and fto them screw up. I disagree," Buttigieg said.

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

Duffy blames his predecessor astatine nan Department of Transportation and nan Biden management for what he claims was a nonaccomplishment to upgrade nan 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 do 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 nan astir unpopular 100-day-mark president successful modern American history."

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

And Duffy, who earlier this week unveiled a awesome scheme to overhaul nan nation's aging aerial postulation power system, claims nan Biden management is to blasted for nan caller problems, including aerial postulation power instrumentality outages.

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

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

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

And he added that "we launched nan statement to modernize nan communications backbone of nan FAA knowing that it wasn’t thing that could beryllium done successful a twelvemonth aliases 2 years. If he tin execute an acceleration of that, I will beryllium nan first 1 to beryllium cheering for that. But that takes focus, it takes discipline, it takes integrity and, frankly, there’s nary clip for authorities connected a mission-critical occupation for illustration that."