Biden tells N.H. Democrats Buttigieg is ‘not a Barack Obama’

MANCHESTER, N.H. — Scrambling to salvage his presidential campaign, Joe Biden escalated his criticism of Pete Buttigieg on Saturday, mocking Buttigieg’s experience as a small city mayor and cutting down the comparisons Buttigieg has drawn to the last Democratic president, declaring: “This guy’s not a Barack Obama.”

Biden’s biting attacks on Buttigieg’s relatively thin resume mark a new, more aggressive attempt to slow the momentum of the youngest candidate in the Democratic field. The 38-year-old emerged from Iowa in an effective tie with Sen. Bernie Sanders, but faces questions about whether his eight years as mayor of South Bend, Indiana, prepared him for the presidency.

“I do not believe we’re a party at risk if I’m the nominee,” Biden told voters in Manchester. “I do believe we’re a party at risk if we nominate someone who has never held a higher office than the mayor of South Bend, Indiana.”

Buttigieg also faced criticism from Sanders, who said he had billionaires “by the dozens” contributing to his campaign.

“If you’re serious about political change in America, change is not going to be coming from somebody who gets a lot of money from the CEOs of the pharmaceutical industry,” Sanders said.

Both Sanders and Buttigieg appear in strong position in New Hampshire ahead of Tuesday’s primary. Biden’s campaign is trying to recalibrate, shaking up its senior leadership and signaling that the former vice president won’t go down without a fight.

On Saturday morning, the campaign posted an online video comparing Biden’s record as vice president with Buttigieg’s service as mayor. While Biden helped President Barack Obama pass health care legislation and orchestrate an auto industry bailout, the ad says, Buttigieg was installing decorative lights on bridges and repairing sidewalks.

Buttigieg issued a sharp retort Saturday night at a Democratic Party dinner in Manchester: “Americans in small rural towns in industrial communities and in pockets of our country’s biggest cities are tired of being reduced to a punchline by Washington politicians and ready for somebody to take their voice to the American capital.”