Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg turned 42 on Friday. We suspect he was surprised and honored when none other than President Joe Biden decided to sing him “Happy Birthday”.
Biden was speaking at the U.S. Conference of Mayors Winter Meeting at the White House. The event attracts mayors from all over the country. Buttigieg, who was formerly the Mayor of South Bend, Indiana, earlier in his career, was in attendance in his capacity as Transportation Secretary.
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“My wife, she has a tradition in her family … and on everybody’s birthday, you’ve got to sing ‘Happy Birthday,’” he added. “So stand up and let’s sing ‘Happy Birthday.’”
Biden and the crowd duly sang. Buttigieg, seated in the front row, stood up and shook the President’s hand.
Watch below.
This is great! President Biden just led a crowd in singing “Happy Birthday” to Transportation Sec. Pete Buttigieg:
Biden wasn’t the only person to wish Buttigieg a happy birthday. He was also presented with a cake by staff at another meeting. A video he posted on Instagram showed him trying to think of something to wish for.
“Yesterday I would have wished for appropriations or a CR [continuing resolution], but now that we’ve banked that I can go big,” Buttigieg joked, taking a moment to think of something before blowing out his candles.
He captioned the clip, “Grateful for all the warm wishes—and the cake.”
In 2019, Democrat Buttigieg made history when he ran as an out-gay candidate for President (following in the footsteps of Fred Karger who mounted an unsuccessful bid for the GOP nomination in 2012). Hot on the heels of Republican Ron DeSantis suspending his campaign yesterday, let’s take a moment to enjoy Buttigieg recalling advice he received from former President Jimmy Carter when his own campaign began to falter.
Pete Buttigieg turns 42 today. But he already has lifetimes of stories to tell. #HBDSecretaryPete
This is great! President Biden just led a crowd in singing “Happy Birthday” to Transportation Sec. Pete Buttigieg:
pic.twitter.com/73DY59uF13— Chris D. Jackson (@ChrisDJackson) January 19, 2024
