On Monday’s “Today,” former South Bend mayor and Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg announced he will be subbing in for Jimmy Kimmel Thursday night.
In an exclusive interview with MSNBC’s Craig Melvin, Buttigieg expanded on why he exited the presidential race and what lies ahead in his life. Buttigieg said that despite running four races for the Democratic nomination, his goals for the country outweighed his goal to win the election.
“Getting into this race was never just about becoming president, for us it was about working to unify the party and the country and it was about making sure that we defeat Donald Trump,” Buttigieg said. “And there came a point when I realized that the best thing I could do in the service of those goals was to step aside.”
In the immediate term, the former candidate said he is going to be traveling a bit, thanking supporters and spending some time away with his husband Chasten. “Then we’ll come back and I’ll make myself useful in new ways, but we’re going to have some fun first,” he hinted.
Melvin pressed for details on what that “fun” looked like and Buttigieg confirmed he’ll be hosting the late-night show while Kimmel is away in production for “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.”
Kimmel joked on Twitter after the segment that he’s nominating Buttigieg for the guest slot.
“We’re really exited for that, lining up a great slate of guests,” he said. “Sir Patrick Stewart is coming on.”
He said “some funnier minds” than his will hopefully help prepare his monologue and gracefully dodged a question from Melvin about whether he’d interview Sen. Any Klobuchar, who was particularly fierce with him during some of the primary debates. She eventually dropped out too and endorsed former vice president Joe Biden, just like Buttigieg.
Watch @PeteButtigieg’s full exclusive interview with @craigmelvin about why he left the presidential race, what’s next for him and much more. pic.twitter.com/sDrSVJrO2z
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) March 9, 2020