Buttigieg mocked by conservatives for criticizing Trump for his position on debating Harris

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was mocked online by conservatives for criticizing former President Donald Trump for pausing on plans for a debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, calling it hypocritical.

"Has a presidential nominee ever agreed to a debate, then pulled out?" Buttigieg wrote on the social media platform, X on Friday. "Remarkable show of weakness here."

Conservatives responded by mocking the question, arguing that President Joe Biden did the same thing when he dropped out of the 2024 presidential race, resulting in him backing out of the debate.

"Yes. Biden. Literally this past weekend," CNN pundit Scott Jennings said in response.

"Joe Biden agreed to a September debate and then pulled out of the whole entire race bc the first debate was so bad," another user wrote.

Biden recently announced he would be ending his re-election campaign for the upcoming election. He endorsed Harris for the Democratic presidential nomination. 

"I'll take 'Who is Joe Biden for $500, Alex!' another user said in response to Buttigieg's question.

Jason Miller, a senior advisor to Donald Trump, said a televised debate between the two candidates "will happen." The issue appears to be that while Trump agreed to debate Biden on ABC in a second debate, fully accepting Biden's demands, Trump views Biden's withdrawal as the basis for new negotiations over the presidential debates. He would prefer the next debate to be on Fox News.