Buttigieg surges in New Hampshire poll ahead of primary
Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg gains 8 points, closes on frontrunner Bernie Sanders; Ellison Barber reports from Effingham, New Hampshire.
Former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg was severely mocked for tweeting a quote pic with a saying that critics claim "literally doesn't mean anything."
During a CNN town hall on Thursday night, Buttigieg was asked if he could enact one specific policy as president, what it would be.
"Just one? Wow," Buttigieg reacted. "Let me say this, it's not a sizzling, glamorous issue, but the shape of our democracy is the issue that affects every other issue. So in order for us to get better outcomes on funding public education, on dealing with gun violence... there are so many issues and areas from climate to gun violence where Americans want something and Washington cannot deliver. That if you've got to pick one thing to fix, it's politics. It's Washington. And there are concrete things we can do about it."
Buttigieg then shared an image of himself on Twitter with a graphic that read, "The shape of our democracy is the issue that affects every other issue."
PETE BUTTIGIEG CAMPAIGN ROASTED FOR ADDING APPLAUSE TO CNN TOWN HALL CLIPS
However, without the context of his fuller answer from the town hall, many on social media were left puzzled by the quote.
"This literally doesn't mean anything," The Hill's "Rising" co-host Saagar Enjeti reacted.
"Almost as meaningless as the percentage of Iowa’s state delegate count," Jacobin writer Meagan Day quipped.
"Imagine thinking this quote, which communicates nothing of substance, is so good that you make a graphic out of it to promote in a tweet," The Young Turks host Ana Kasparian wrote.
"This is like an inspirational quote run through Google translate into mandarin and back again," Washington Examiner columnist T. Becket Adams said.
Some had fun at the expense of the former mayor by creating their own inspirational quotes.
"Do not ask 'where is politics.' Ask, instead, 'where are politics not?' Look around you tonight: everywhere you are, and everywhere you are not, that is where America is," former Deadspin editor David Roth joked.
"'We must move forward, not backward; upward, not forward; and always twirling, twirling, twirling towards freedom,'" The Athletic managing editor Stephen Cohen quipped.
"MOISTURE IS THE ESSENCE OF WETNESS," writer Sean T. Collins joked.
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Even ex-2020 candidate Marianne Williamson piled on against her former competitor.
"If I had said it, there'd be jokes about my being on acid. And I would never have said it." Williamson reacted.
This isn't the only social media blunder Buttigieg has faced this week. His campaign was under fire for sharing clips from a previous CNN town hall with added applause to his remarks.
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