United States
United Kingdom
Canada
Australia
New Zealand
IrelandButtigieg says rejecting Trump isn't a blank cheque for Democrats
Speaking at Abdul El-Sayed's Michigan watch party, he tells The Guardian that Democrats must show they have heard voters' message.
The Guardian
Story of Why this story? The video opened at a pace of 62,178 views a day, 12 times a normal first day on this channel (5,178).
'Donald Trump was rejected comprehensively,' says Pete Buttigieg
Pete Buttigieg takes Donald Trump's campaign instruction literally: voters were asked to imagine the president was on the ballot, and, he argues, they voted accordingly.
"Well, Donald Trump urged voters to imagine that he was on the ballot. I think that's exactly what happened," he tells Guardian reporter Oliver Laughland at Abdul El-Sayed's watch party in Michigan.
The short interview has drawn around 56,000 views before its first day is complete, running at roughly twelve times the usual first-day pace for The Guardian's Shorts. But Buttigieg's verdict comes with a warning for the party celebrating those victories.
After criticising Republican priorities on healthcare and tax cuts, he draws a distinction: "Now, the comprehensive rejection of Trump and Republicans is not the same thing as a comprehensive embrace of Democrats."
His test is what happens after the celebrations: Democrats need to demonstrate that they have listened and will do the work voters elected them to do.
The exchange accompanies another unusually widely watched Guardian upload, "How Abdul El-Sayed defeated Maga in Michigan | Anywhere but Washington". That longer report follows Oliver Laughland and Tom Silverstone through the campaign's final days, canvassing and both parties' election-night gatherings, placing Buttigieg's brief assessment inside the Michigan story unfolding around him.
An American Democratic politician who served as US transportation secretary from 2021 to 2025. He was previously mayor of South Bend, Indiana.
More on Wikipedia ›An American epidemiologist and politician who is the US senator-elect for Michigan.
More on Wikipedia ›Published on Trari
Where next?
Is this your channel?For the channel's owners and team: a ready picture and text for your audience
Share the story with your audience. Everything is ready:
For an Instagram story or a WhatsApp status
For a community post or your channel's description
- Channel
- The Guardian
- Subscribers
- 2,650,000
- Channel views, last 7 days
- 4,626,826
- Channel views, pace per day
- 625,416 (on a normal day: 530,275)
- Video published
- November 4, 2026
- Video views so far
- 55,848 (less than a day online)
- Video views, pace per day
- 62,178
The numbers
The Buttigieg interview is drawing views far faster than The Guardian's usual Short. Its longer Michigan campaign report is also having an unusually strong start among regular videos.
💡 Test your knowledge
Whose Michigan watch party is the setting for Buttigieg's interview?
Buttigieg speaks with Oliver Laughland at Abdul El-Sayed's watch party in Michigan.