Republicans have won the 2024 election with a strategy that includes a large number of podcast appearances. Now, Democrats are debating their future election strategies, and much discussion is on the podcast.
Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy has spoken in NPR and elsewhere about a populist attacking part of the Democrats in the political system, which doesn't work for most people and is louder in opposition to the Trump administration. Longtime party chief Rahm Emanuel continued on Megyn Kelly’s podcast and rejected some orthodox parties on social issues. Authors Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson appeared on the podcast to promote their book Rich, It is believed that progressive policies have hindered the way of progressive governments.
Pete Buttigieg is playing his own game in one of NPR's full-plan interviews. The past, possibly future presidential competitors have been discussed as first Podcast episodes, videos on multiple platforms and videos on the radio Morning version. Buttigieg warned in a conversation with NPR that Democrats can’t and shouldn’t try to restore everything in President Trump’s administration this year.
Buttigieg in Morning version Interviewed in New York City. “It’s also wrong to imagine that we should keep everything going.”
Here are four key points in a broad discussion about his party position and what to do now.
The status quo does not work
When the Democrats are in power in 2021, many see it as a recovery project: repairing and strengthening Trump's damaged institutions. Buttigieg no longer considers this a completely realistic or even ideal goal. He said Democrats are “too solid with the status quo that we have failed for a long time to fail.” That’s one of the reasons Buttigieg failed in 2024.
Now he talks about embracing change. “It's wrong to burn the Department of Education, but I actually think it's wrong to do it in 2024,” he said. “You can say the same thing to the Agency. It's unreasonable that kids die from a sudden sabotage of the Agency. It's unreasonable. But, assuming that if Democrats are back in power, our project should just piece together the pieces, just like theirs.”
In fact, he started as former Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign slogan in 2024 – “We won't go back” and applied it to a completely different situation.
The frenzy on Epstein's documents reflects greater loss of confidence
Buttigieg believes that one of the reasons why the Jeffrey Epstein scandal has this lasting power is the “segment of social trust.” Many Americans do not have a general trust in the government, nor do they believe that the government has revealed all the knowledge of financiers and convicted sex offenders, who have joined many wealthy and powerful people, including his former friend Donald Trump, before committing suicide in 2019.
President Trump’s aides promised the enormous revelation in Epstein’s archives that many Trump supporters were reluctant to accept when the Trump administration failed to achieve it.
Buttigieg acknowledged that Epstein was “more an area of interest in the Margki base than Democrats” but defended the Democratic Party’s recent pressure on the president.
“You shouldn't be a Republican or a Democrat to care about ensuring transparency like the abuse that happens,” Buttigieg said.
Buttigieg also answered our question about another trust question: whether past administration members masked Joe Biden’s age. The former transport secretary insisted on another. “I'm honestly, that's that he's old. You can see that he's old. And when it comes to my ability to work and getting my boss, my president, to support me in this job, I always get everything he needs from the Oval Office.”
He wants to postpone the “politics of fear”
Buttigieg said fear of political retribution and even physical violence is “more real than at any time in my life.” Fear of losing money “is already affecting who is invited to speak in college or hire in a law firm. … we can’t allow it.” He added: “The thing about fear politics is that the more you succumb to it, the worse it gets. The only antidote to fear politics is a politics of courage.”
Watch the beard
In our video interview, we discuss the quirks of history. Before 1860, no president had a beard or beard. From 1861 to 1913, almost every president had facial hair. Then the trend passed, modern day without the president's facial hair.
Buttigieg, who has been wearing a beard since leaving the office, is now one of several potential presidential contenders with facial hair, joins others from Ted Cruz to JD Vance.
Will the beardless winning streak end since 1913 soon? Buttigieg avoided saying whether he would shave in 2028, and also avoid saying whether he would run.