Dan Merica

Dan Merica @merica

Multiple Buttigieg supporters who voted for Trump in ‘16 told me this week the first thing that won them over was the mayor’s integrity. His “integrity" was the "first thing that grabbed a hold of me,” said Craig Giddings. “Trump has no integrity. They are just polar opposites.” — PolitiTweet.org

Dan Merica @merica

“I think I am going to sign a caucus card for Pete today," said Melissa Hrdlicka, a 38-year old caretaker for disabled people who voted for Trump in 2016. Asked what she would do if Buttigieg didn't win the nomination, Hrdlicka was direct: "I am going to vote for Trump." — PolitiTweet.org

Dan Merica @merica

Impeachment looms over all of this and is the reason Buttigieg was alone in Iowa on Thursday. But the issue was far from front of mind to voters across Iowa’s Northern border. In fact, Buttigieg was not asked about impeachment once during his five town halls. — PolitiTweet.org

Dan Merica @merica

A source familiar with Buttigieg’s thinking in Iowa: “If he does not place in the top two in either IA or NH, or I would argue if he places behind Biden in both of those contests, that will be it.” The thinking: W/o strong finishes, a lack of momentum will sink Buttigieg. — PolitiTweet.org

Dan Merica @merica

New: Pete Buttigieg had Iowa all to himself on Thursday. He responded by hitting the gas. Why the urgency? Buttigieg’s primary strategy hangs on Iowa, where the candidate has ceded ground in recent weeks. w/ @DJJudd: https://t.co/cZ2BbCiIFF — PolitiTweet.org

Dan Merica @merica

RT @DanaBashCNN: Evelyn Yang, wife of @AndrewYang tells me she’s a survivor of sexual assault by a doctor accused of abusing dozens of his… — PolitiTweet.org

Dan Merica @merica

Buttigieg: "The best way to deal with him is to quickly respond to whatever he did or said that was wrong and explain why, and then come right back to what this race is actually about which is how our lives are going to be different." — PolitiTweet.org

Dan Merica @merica

Question in Sioux City: "Tell us what you plan when you go toe to toe with Trump at the first debate?" Woman in audience: "You go high!" Buttigieg: "If he starts doing the chest beating... we're going to talk about his approach to his opportunity to serve." — PolitiTweet.org

Dan Merica @merica

Buttigieg testing lines countering Trump's focus on the stock market: "When I'm president, the #1 measure of how the economy is doing will not be the Dow Jones, it will not be the GDP, it will be the income growth of the 90%. ... That's how we know we have a good economy." — PolitiTweet.org

Dan Merica @merica

And then on impeachment: "We've got to make sure we're ready to do something different. Well, that's what 2020 is about, 2020 means that whatever is going on on the floor of the Senate, it's actually up to us this time." — PolitiTweet.org

Dan Merica @merica

Buttigieg in Sioux City: "I'm watching the news out of Washington. We all are. And I think there's a temptation to just give in to a sense of exhaustion. It's like it's punching in the face every day you turn on the news." — PolitiTweet.org

Dan Merica @merica

"Everyone has their own MeToo story. It's far too prevalent," said Evelyn Yang. "But not everyone can tell their story. Not everyone has the audience or platform to tell their story, and I actually feel like I'm in this very privileged position to be able to do that." — PolitiTweet.org

Dan Merica @merica

Powerful story from @DanaBashCNN & @bridgetmnolan: Evelyn Yang reveals she was sexually assaulted by her OB-GYN while pregnant https://t.co/1XCm2Jt7zo w/ Nelli Black & @pdicarlocnn — PolitiTweet.org

Dan Merica @merica

This from Buttigieg’s event in Orange City stuck out to me. While the area around South Bend is relatively conservative, the city itself certainly isn’t. — PolitiTweet.org

Dan Merica @merica

@dougblandry @PeteButtigieg @PeteForAmerica It’s also not easy for the Buttigieg press corps! @DJJudd — PolitiTweet.org

Dan Merica @merica

Buttigieg calls on a questioner in Orange City like this: "Gentleman from the #YangGang?" The man asked how Buttigieg would respond to people who say the country isn't ready for a gay president. — PolitiTweet.org

Dan Merica @merica

Buttigieg working on his closing message here in IA. "I'm talking to the same folks who I saw, maybe six months ago said 'Okay you're in my top seven, let's see how you how you do,'" he says. "Right now, it's decision time and Iowa has a way of making history," he adds. — PolitiTweet.org

Dan Merica @merica

This came during an interesting exchange w a woman who voted for Trump in 2016. "The way I see it, the only economic promise that this President has kept is when he went and passed those big tax cuts," Buttigieg said, adding Trump's " Forgotten men and women" have been ignored. — PolitiTweet.org

Dan Merica @merica

Buttigieg is Algona slams Trump for how he touts the unemployment number. "The President before him (Obama) got unemployment from ten to five," he said. "This guy got it from five to four and he's like the rooster that thinks he made the sun come back in the morning." — PolitiTweet.org

Dan Merica @merica

Buttigieg on online criticism: "The one thing I am learning is just how much daylight there is between what has currency on social media and what I’m getting asked about when I’m on the ground, and I would not be surprised if it continues to be the case" if he becomes POTUS. — PolitiTweet.org

Dan Merica @merica

NYT: "Do you think that families should be able to obtain religious or personal exemptions for mandatory vaccination?" Buttigieg: "No. We’ve seen the public health impact of, I can’t even call it pseudoscience." https://t.co/Iq5La9XjAE — PolitiTweet.org

Dan Merica @merica

Buttigieg tells the NYT that he was "angered, but honestly, not completely surprised" by the Afghanistan Papers published by the NYT. https://t.co/Iq5La9XjAE — PolitiTweet.org

Dan Merica @merica

NYT: "Who has broken your heart?" Buttigieg: "Boston College. I was 11 years old. We were this close to the National Championship. And they came to South Bend, we were one game away... and they came into our stadium, and they broke my little heart." https://t.co/Iq5La9XjAE — PolitiTweet.org

Dan Merica @merica

Buttigieg: "I’m also mindful as the new guy that maybe waving my arms is not the best way to convey what I care about." ... NYT: "Who is given more room to be emotive than you are?" Buttigieg: "Others." https://t.co/Iq5LaaeUsc https://t.co/5BvaCltn1T — PolitiTweet.org

Dan Merica @merica

Well, Buttigieg doesn't usually answer ?s this way. Buttigieg: "So the proposition that I’ve been on front lines of corporate price fixing is bullshit." The company, Loblaws, has said the former mayor had nothing to do with bread price fixing. https://t.co/Iq5La9XjAE — PolitiTweet.org

Dan Merica @merica

How fluid is the race in Iowa? Meet Autry Fasnacht, a student at University of Northern Iowa. He left Buttigieg's event in Cedar Falls wearing a Buttigieg beanie and button and holding a t-shirt. He remains undecided, in part, because Sanders "wants to cancel student debt." — PolitiTweet.org

Dan Merica @merica

@ElizLanders These are the days Patagonia was made for. — PolitiTweet.org

Dan Merica @merica

Good morning from balmy Mason City! https://t.co/bzqzkOwmGS — PolitiTweet.org

Dan Merica @merica

@samcornale Need @albamonica to weigh in. — PolitiTweet.org

Dan Merica @merica

.@ec_schneider, the only woman at a 10-person dinner, just now: “I’ll have the man’s filet” to a perfectly giddy waitress. — PolitiTweet.org