Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on Friday lamented President Joe Biden's rocky debate performance but defended his status as the Democrat nominee.
In an interview on MSNBC, Buttigieg conceded "It wasn't the debate I would have loved for us to have."
"I know what it's like, to have a night on the campaign trail or a day or a moment or an event or an interview that you go back and say, ‘I would have done this different or done that different,' " he said.
Buttigieg went up against Biden in a debate in 2020 as Buttigieg was seeking the Democrat presidential nomination.
But he's a Biden defender now.
"Joe Biden is our candidate and our president because he is the best person to lead this country forward," Buttigieg said.
Former President Barack Obama also defended Biden, writing on X: "bad debate nights happen."