Buttigieg has dropped out of the presidential race

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Pete Buttigieg has dropped his presidential bid after a disappointing showing in South Carolina, ending a ‘meteoric rise’ that saw the once-obscure former mayor of South Bend, Ind., beat out several bigger-name rivals in the race for the Democratic nomination.

The former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, was supposed to travel to Texas but he instead returned home to Indiana to make the offical announcement to his supporters.

His speech came one day after Buttigieg won just 3 percent of black voters in South Carolina, according to NBC News exit polls, reinforcing concerns about his ongoing inability to win votes from one of the party’s most important constituencies despite the candidate’s efforts to address the issue.

President Trump on Sunday night tweeted that Pete Buttigieg dropping out of the presidential race signals the “beginning of the Dems taking Bernie out of play.”

Pete Buttigieg is OUT. All of his SuperTuesday votes will go to Sleepy Joe Biden. Great timing. This is the REAL beginning of the Dems taking Bernie out of play – NO NOMINATION, AGAIN!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 1, 2020

Biden tweeted that this was just the beginning of Buttigieg’s “time on the national stage”.

Pete Buttigieg is OUT. All of his SuperTuesday votes will go to Sleepy Joe Biden. Great timing. This is the REAL beginning of the Dems taking Bernie out of play – NO NOMINATION, AGAIN!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 1, 2020

And Van Jones was one of many already speculating that ‘Mayor Pete’ will be offered and national position by the next Democrat president.

Smart move. Unbelievable success story.

First openly gay candidate to make it this far in a presidential election.

This is not the last we’ll be seeing of @PeteButtigieg … He’s just getting started. #MayorPete https://t.co/SXpOlSXHm6

— Van Jones (@VanJones68) March 1, 2020