With his exit from the Democratic primary race last week, Pete Buttigieg found himself available when Jimmy Kimmel called and asked if the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana would guest host his late-night talk show.
Mayor Pete handled the hosting duties with panache even delivering the opening monologue which took aim at some prominent names as well as himself.
Due to the coronavirus threat, Buttigieg’s studio audience was comprised of a handful of crew members, show staffers, friends and of course husband Chasten.
“This was not our plan,” Buttigieg explained. “We just decided this a few hours ago, and it’s disappointing because I love to crowd-surf. It’s kind of my thing.”
“But the experts have told us the best way to prevent the spread of the virus is to physically stay apart, so that’s what we’re going to do,” he added as he camera panned across the nearly empty audience seats. “The only way we’re going to get through this crisis is with unity, so let’s do this together. Who’s with me?”
Cut to footage of a massive, wildly cheering crowd.
Keeping it honest, Buttigieg did confirm: “Full disclosure, none of those people are here.” He then added, “But when you don’t have a real audience, you have to fake one, just like Trump’s inauguration.”
#Boom
“As you know I dropped out of the presidential race last week, which was unfortunate, but what can I say: Some candidates know when it’s time to get out of the race, and some candidates are Tulsi Gabbard,” he continued.
#Suh-Nap
“I really thought we had a shot, but it turns out I was about 40 years too young, and 38 years too gay,” Buttigieg said with a smile.
“Although we didn’t win, we did achieve some pretty big milestones,” he proclaimed. “I’m the first gay person ever to win a presidential primary and the first gay man in 30 years to wear pleated pants. We all have our journey.”
Noting how quickly things can change on a day-to-day basis, Buttigieg showed his audience “living proof that America will always be America” as footage of former half-term governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin, rolled revealing her to be the rainbow bear on The Masked Singer Wednesday night.
After a pause, Buttigieg remarked, “That’s gonna be me in three months, isn’t it?”
Later in the show, Mayor Pete interviewed Tony Hale (Veep) and the one and only Sir Patrick Stewart who is promoting his return to the role of Captain Jean-Luc Picard in the new series, Star Trek: Picard.
Buttigieg, a life-long Star Trek fan, even went head-to-head with Stewart in a trivia game titled, “Who’s the Captain Now?” hosted by the one and only LeVar Burton.
Chasten took to Instagram to share behind-the-scenes moments with Buttigieg and his guests.
