CNN’s Dana Bash Calls Pete Buttigieg’s Dropout a Signal to Competitors: ‘It’s Time to Consolidate’ Around Biden

CNN’s Dana Bash suggested Pete Buttigieg’s withdrawal from the 2020 race was a strategic decision to boost Joe Biden during a Monday morning hit on CNN’s New Day.

The former South Bend mayor backed out of the race on Sunday night, which poses a major development for the Democratic field ahead of Super Tuesday. As such, Bash explained on Monday that Buttigieg “tried to lead the way” on Monday by implicitly telling his competitors that they must rally around the ex-veep now.

“He’s saying – without using these words – I’m the guy who won Iowa. I came from nowhere with a name nobody could pronounce, with no national base, no national fundraising base, and look at how far I came. And yet, I understand the reality of math. I don’t see a path forward. And so the signal he is giving to others including somebody with a lot of money, the deepest pockets in the world Mike Bloomberg is, ‘Okay, guys. It’s time. Let’s pull back.’ He’s not actually endorsing Joe Biden. I can tell you there’s a lot of encouragement, people begging him to do so from around Bidenworld. But he’s making clear that it’s time to consolidate.”

When Buttigieg announced his campaign suspension on Sunday, he did so while saying “I will do everything in my power to ensure that we have a new Democratic president come January.” Since Buttigieg has been critical of Bernie Sanders’ campaign call for a Democratic socialist national revolution, the mayor’s withdrawal further suggests he hopes this will be a strategic retreat to help Biden instead of the Vermont senator.

Watch above, via CNN