Biden Mocks Buttigieg in Ad Contrasting Their Records in Office

Joe Biden mocked Pete Buttigieg in a scathing ad that contrasts the former vice president’s long experience in government to the more modest accomplishments of the 38-year-old former mayor of South Bend, Indiana.

“We’re electing a president. What you’ve done matters,” the ad says.

The spot compares Biden’s work helping to pass the Affordable Care Act to Buttigieg’s implementation of decorative lights under South Bend’s bridges. It also says that while Biden, 77, worked to revive the economy after the 2008 crash, Buttigieg’s brought new sidewalks to his mid-sized city.

“Both Vice President Biden and former Mayor Buttigieg have taken on tough fights,” the ad says. “Under threat of a nuclear Iran, Joe Biden helped to negotiate the Iran deal. Under threat of disappearing pets, Buttigieg negotiated lighter licensing regulations on pet chip scanners.”

Democratic candidates including Biden took aim at Buttigieg’s experience at the Democratic debate in Manchester, New Hampshire, on Friday after the former mayor won the Iowa caucus by a razor-thin margin. Biden placed fourth.

Buttigieg spokesman Chris Meagher said the ad reflected Biden’s status as a Washington insider. “South Bend residents who now have better jobs, rising income, and new life in their city don’t think their lives are a Washington politician’s punchline,” Meagher said in a statement. “The vice president’s decision to run this ad speaks more to where he currently stands in this race than it does about Pete’s perspective as a mayor and veteran.”