Former U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said he was surprised to see that Kamala Harris wrote in her new book that he was her first choice for running mate in last year's presidential election but she decided not to select him because he was gay, Politico reported.

Newsweek reached out to Buttigieg for comment.

Why It Matters

The revelation by former Vice President Harris about her decision not to choose Buttigieg because of her concerns with how voters would see the ticket comes as the administration of President Donald Trump has derided and dismantled diversity, equity and inclusion programs and maintained a relentless attack on Democratic rivals for being too "woke."

Both Harris and Buttigieg could make a run for president in 2028 although neither has formally announced their candidacy and is unlikely to do so until after next year's midterms.

What To Know

Harris, whose book 107 Days is due out this month, became the Democratic candidate to run against Trump in 2024 after President Joe Biden announced he would withdraw from the race amid concerns over his health and fitness for a second term.

Harris chose Tim Walz, governor of Minnesota, as her running mate and they lost the election.

Harris has revealed that Walz was not her first choice for running mate and she would have picked Buttigieg instead but she believed the American public was not ready for the pairing of a Black woman and a gay man.

Buttigieg told Politico on Thursday that he believes in "giving Americans more credit" than assuming they couldn't vote for such a presidential ticket.

"My experience in politics has been that the way that you earn trust with voters is based mostly on what they think you're going to do for their lives, not on categories," Buttigieg said.

"You just have to go to voters with what you think you can do for them," he added. "Politics is about the results we can get for people and not about these other things."

In an excerpt of her book published in The Atlantic on Wednesday, Harris said she wanted Buttigieg as her running mate because she loved working with him and because they were friends.

She wrote that Buttigieg "would have been an ideal partner — if I were a straight white man," adding that because Buttigieg is gay, she was concerned the American public might not accept him.

"I love Pete," she wrote. "I love working with Pete. He and his husband, Chasten, are friends."

What People Are Saying

Harris wrote in her book: "But we were already asking a lot of America: to accept a woman, a Black woman, a Black woman married to a Jewish man. Part of me wanted to say, Screw it, let's just do it. But knowing what was at stake, it was too big of a risk."

Mark Shanahan, who teaches American politics at the University of Surrey, told Newsweek: "No possible pick for VP on the Harris ticket was going to tick every box, and Walz was a reasonable choice when she believed her most important battle was for male voters in the Rust Belt."

What Happens Next

107 Days will be released by Simon & Schuster on September 23.