Buttigieg: Biden's SOTU address showed a leader 'in command'

Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg on Sunday praised President Biden’s State of the Union address and said anyone watching saw a president “in command.”

In an interview on ABC News’s “This Week” with George Stephanopoulos, Buttigieg dismissed criticism in Sen. Katie Britt’s (R-Ala.) rebuttal to Biden’s State of the Union address.

“Now, I know that those response addresses have to be written before the State of the Union is actually delivered, and I don't think they usually change them based on what actually happens during the address,” Buttigieg said about Britt’s rebuttal.

“But anybody who watched that address saw — not just in the substance, but in the delivery of President Biden's remarks — a leader who is in command, showing strength and clarity of vision,” Buttigieg continued.

When pressed on how Biden can be the candidate of “change” at 81 years old, Buttigieg referred to the saying that what matters most is how old a leader’s ideas are, touting Biden’s position on climate change, LGBTQ equality and reproductive freedoms.

"Look at the changes that he's brought about. Take some of the issues that matter most to newer generations. Climate is a great example, right? He, I think generously, suggested that nobody in the chamber would disagree with him that climate change is real and a real problem. And yet I could hear snickering from behind me from some congressional Republicans who were saying they don't think it is a problem,” he said.

“So it's a good example of that saying — that what matters most is the age of a leader's ideas,” he added.