COUNCIL BLUFFS, IOWA (KMTV) — In his final stop in western Iowa before the Iowa caucuses, Mayor Pete Buttigieg says he is the one that has the discipline and life experiences to take on President Donald Trump.
"I'm not to worried about bullies, I'm, gay and I grew up in Indiana,” says Buttigieg.
Buttigieg, who's more well-known as simply Mayor Pete, is polling in the top four in Iowa despite never holding state or federal office. The 38-year-old told the crowd that actually helps in calling out former Vice President Joe Biden, saying he represents a new kind of politics.
"I would argue what history has taught us is that in a moment like this we cannot take the risk of trying to fall back on the old playbook and rely on the familiar to deal with a fundamentally new challenge," says Buttigieg.
While talking to reporters beforehand, he blames the area's historic flooding on climate change and as president he would put more funding towards insurance and put together a commission.
"We have to revise flood plain maps to understand what the true frequency of these events are. That's why I'm proposing a disaster preparedness commission to make sure we're supporting community based plans to get ahead of issues like flooding," says Buttigieg.
The 400-plus in the crowd say his decency separates him from the field.
"His dignity and he seems like he really cares about everybody," says Angie Brisbois.
I asked @PeteButtigieg on what he would do as president on the historic flooding the Iowa and Nebraska has seen...This is his full response. pic.twitter.com/WOfrqDnLLr
— Jon Kipper (@jonnykip21) January 31, 2020
Others like his moderate stances.
"The objective is to beat Trump, and so if you're on the left hand side, too far on the left, your chances are just so diminished. Even though you're a great candidate, your issues are just too far left," says Steve Smith.
Duncan Law says he likes Pete, but is a Bernie Sanders supporter instead. He thinks Sanders can capture the moderates while firing up the base.
"It's easy to spread a message of hope and moving forward in a time like this. If they are in the middle, I don't think it's hard to get them to the Bernie side, especially with Trump on the other side,” says Law.
