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I keep hearing about the intellectual majesty of South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg.

Proof of Brilliance: “He went to an Ivy League University!”

Proof of Sarcasm: So did Trump.

Proof of Brilliance: “He’s a polyglot!”

Proof of Sarcasm: Relax; it’s not a gay slur. It means he speaks several languages.

Proof of Brilliance: “He became mayor of South Bend at the age of 29!” 

Proof of Sarcasm: Schuyler Colfax III became mayor of South Bend at age 28 in 1898 – and the youngest mayor of a U.S. city with at least 100,000 residents.

Okay, so I Googled that last one.

I congratulate Pete on his impressive achievements and his ability to communicate fluently in Norwegian (a skill that undoubtedly comes in quite handy on a daily basis), but for a smart guy, he seems to have a real proclivity for running his mouth before thinking things through. Thursday night’s democratic debate was a perfect example.

Mayor Pete, who has even less knowledge and experience in matters of foreign trade than Donald Trump, was asked about the tariffs the President has imposed on China. 

The reality is that Trump is surrounded by a team of economic advisors who are driving the bus on trade, but let’s not dwell on semantics.

Trump “clearly has no strategy” in his trade war with China, according to Buttigieg. “I’d like to see him make a deal with Xi Jinping,” he said. “Wasn’t that supposed to happen in, like, April?”

Buttigieg then proceeded to skewer President Trump on tariffs, noting that farmers are hurting and the American people are ultimately paying the price in the absence of a deal with China.

Buttigieg’s Bottom Line: Tariffs are bad.

But the trade imbalance with China is a reality whether Donald Trump is in office or a brilliant, multilingual President Buttigieg. Thus, the obvious question is how Buttigieg would propose to resolve the standoff with Xi Jinping if given the chance (God forbid).

Asked if he would repeal Trump’s tariffs, Mayor Boot-Edge-Edge offered the following reply:

“I would have a strategy that would include the tariffs as leverage, but it’s not about the tariffs. Look, what’s going on right now is a President who has reduced the entire China challenge into a question of tariffs when what we know is that the tariffs are coming down on us more than anybody else, and there’s a lack of a bigger strategy.”

Isn’t it amazing how political word salad with no substance – even when spoken by a polyglot with an Ivy League education – still sounds like horse manure?

Friday morning, WIBC host Tony Katz tackled Buttigieg’s comments on trade during Thursday’s debate. Click below to check it out.