Pete Buttigieg’s Cowardly Election Day ‘Yes’ Gives Him an Out If Abdul El-Sayed Loses

Pete Buttigieg, another lefty 2028 contender, managed to keep Michigan Democrat Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed at arm's length and give himself an out on Election Day, all on CNBC. If Republican Mike Rogers wins, the former Biden transportation secretary will have a clip he can point to. If El-Sayed wins, there’s a clip for that, too.

On "Squawk Box," the host asked Buttigieg whether El-Sayed’s association with left-wing streamer Hasan Piker would be disqualifying for him. He followed up by asking whether Buttigieg would distance himself from Piker’s comments or from the association itself. Buttigieg gave one answer to the whole thing.

Pete Buttigieg says Abdul El-Sayed refusing to denounce Hasan Piker is disqualifying. CNBC: The association with Hasan Piker that El-Sayed has, wouldn’t that be disqualifying for you? Would you distance yourself? BUTTIGIEG: "The answer to your question is Yes." https://t.co/TbM3VD12mE

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) November 3, 2026

“Yeah, the answer to your question is yes, and again, one thing I find is that I never meet somebody that I agree with on 100% of everything.”

Which part got the yes? You could hear it as Buttigieg saying the association would disqualify El-Sayed in his eyes. You could just as easily hear him saying he’d distance himself from some of Piker’s remarks. The bit about never agreeing with anyone on everything made it even easier to take the second reading. For a former Cabinet secretary who can usually get through a television interview without leaving anyone to guess what he meant, that was a pretty convenient answer.

Two days earlier, Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens (MI-11) had answered the question in a way no one could mistake. She endorsed Rogers. She cited El-Sayed’s association with Piker as one reason and said she was still a Democrat. She’d previously said she would vote for El-Sayed, so there was a real reversal for her to explain, and she put her name on it.

It came after Rep. Jim Clyburn (SC-06) tried to get Stevens and El-Sayed together for a show of unity at a Detroit church. That plan fell apart. When Stevens walked into Perfecting Church on Sunday, it was Rogers who was there to greet her.

And Democrats had plenty of time to figure out what they thought about Piker. Piker had heavily campaigned with El-Sayed during the primary. By the final weekend, Piker was comparing a Jewish Detroit suburb to a "Klan, KKK neighborhood" while talking about El-Sayed canvassers knocking on doors there. El-Sayed distanced himself from the Rebellion PAC ad, but as the CNBC host noted, he hasn't really disavowed Piker himself. Whatever El-Sayed does or doesn't share with the streamer, the association was fair game.

Stevens has already taken heat from her own party for choosing Rogers. Senate Democrat leader Chuck Schumer called her endorsement a “betrayal.” Whatever you think of her timing, she named her reasons, Piker and the Rebellion PAC ad among them.

That’s what makes Buttigieg’s answer so cowardly. By the time voters were casting their ballots, a Democrat who had served in Biden’s Cabinet still couldn’t say plainly whether campaigning with Piker crossed a line for him. On CNBC, he had every chance to call the company El-Sayed kept a problem, and he chose not to. If Rogers wins, watch how much more definite that “yes” suddenly becomes.

Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.

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