Former Transportation Secretary and potential 2028 candidate Pete Buttigieg drew criticism from a former RNC chairman when he appeared to sidestep opportunities to disavow the rise of socialism in the Democratic Party and instead called himself a “Buttigieg Democrat.”

Speaking on “America Reports” Friday, Buttigieg declined to directly address questions about Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) policies, such as abolishing the Senate and ending deportations, instead criticizing President Donald Trump’s foreign policy and economic record.

“Look, there’s always going to be some people in my party who go too far for me, people I disagree with. If you pick the five or 10 or 15 furthest-left people in our party, they’re going to, by definition, disagree with a lot of others. But there’s so much that we do, in fact, agree on,” Buttigieg said.

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“I think one of the reasons why you see people who run on a promise of shaking it up, whether it’s a DSA candidate on the left or whether it’s someone like Donald Trump, is because people can tell that the system we have is not just showing its age — it’s letting us down,” he added.

A University of New Hampshire Granite State Poll published Wednesday places Buttigieg neck-and-neck with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., in a potential 2028 match-up. Earlier in July, Ocasio-Cortez responded to concerns about DSA proposals, including abolishing the Senate, calling it a “constitutional question” and noting, “we’ve all got our complaints.”

When pressed on where he falls on the Democratic spectrum, Buttigieg said he doesn’t fit traditional party labels.

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“I’m a Pete Buttigieg Democrat. I think I’m a common-sense Democrat, but of course everybody thinks that their ideas are common sense to them,” he said.

Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg speaks to reporters backstage after a rally at the Mother Lode Theatre on May 17, 2026, in Butte, Mont. (Janie Osborne/Getty Images)

Fox News political analyst Reince Priebus, who served as RNC chairman and Trump White House chief of staff, argued on “America Reports” that Buttigieg was refusing to confront the socialist wing of his party, calling the interview an example of mainstream Democrats aligning with “people that are far outside the mainstream.”

“The opponent, the Democrats from where Pete Buttigieg is at, is aligning itself with people that are far outside the mainstream. They’re on the wrong side of normal, and he didn’t really address that when he was pressed,” Priebus said. “And that’s the big question for him.”

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Former Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus speaks during the Republican National Convention at Fiserv Forum on July 16, 2024, in Milwaukee, Wis. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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Priebus’ warnings come after several Democratic socialists won major primary elections, including in New York and Colorado. Melat Kiros, a new candidate backed by the DSA, pulled off an upset in Colorado, defeating longtime Democratic Rep. Diana DeGette in Denver’s heavily Democratic district.

In June, a group of far-left candidates won their primary elections in New York with backing from New York City’s Democratic socialist mayor, Zohran Mamdani. The winners included newcomer Darializa Avila Chevalier, who beat Rep. Adriano Espaillat, and Brad Lander, who defeated Rep. Dan Goldman.

Still, when asked whether he was running for president, Buttigieg insisted he was not.

“I’m not running for anything,” he said. “I’m helping people who are because this is a very important election where people are seeing that their everyday lives — from the price of gas to healthcare, is on the line — and a lot of people who generally prefer a Republican president still want to see some kind of balance, some kind of check, some kind of restraint, and are considering maybe for the first time in a long time, voting for a Democrat for Congress.”