Secretary of Transportation diversity hire Pete Buttigieg traveled to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s annual fundraiser with Democrats at a winery in Napa Valley, California, according to NBC News.
Last year, Pelosi’s fundraiser made headlines because Democrats were sipping wine while Americans were dying in Afghanistan during the Biden administration’s chaotic withdrawal from that country, leaving the Taliban in charge.
Pelosi’s fundraiser also raised eyebrows because all the guests were maskless — while the white-coated waiters serving them their food and drinks were all wearing masks, reinforcing a class divide despite Democrat rhetoric about equality.
During the 2020 presidential primary, Buttigeig also drew scorn from the left for fundraising in a California “wine cave.” The campaign of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) even created a website to mock Buttigieg and accuse him of being out of touch.
Buttigieg is considered a likely future presidential candidate — and is thought to be jockeying for position in the event that President Biden steps down for health reasons, or declines to run in 2024, leaving Vice President Kamala Harris in charge.
Harris is deeply unpopular among the electorate, and Buttigieg has often sought headlines at the expense of doing his actual job. Last summer, he disappeared for two months on unannounced paternity leave as a cargo crisis began at the nation’s ports.