At the beginning of Tuesday’s Democratic presidential debate, Twitter started buzzing as soon as Pete Buttigieg began to speak. Unfortunately, it wasn’t because of anything he was saying.
Rather, the question was cosmetic: What’s that thing on Mayor Pete’s face?
It was a small smudge on his forehead — a speck of something, a skoch of schmutz, maybe a stress-related zit. Some jokesters suggested it was a bit of salsa. (Buttigieg had a mini-viral moment earlier in the week, when he asserted it was OK to mix the Mexican dip with ranch dressing.)
What’s this new thing on Mayor Pete’s forehead? pic.twitter.com/1pQ39i4UVA
— John Hudson (@John_Hudson) July 31, 2019
Does Pete have a boo boo on his forehead?
— Jane Lynch (@janemarielynch) July 31, 2019
I’m that thing on Pete Buttigeig’s forehead. Have I alwyas been there? #4head #Buttigeig #forehead
— buttigeig forehead (@buttigeig) July 31, 2019
Did Pete Buttigieg cut himself shaving … um… his forehead? #DemDebate2
— Rob ® (@RB_0007) July 31, 2019
Nobody:
The mole on Mayor Pete’s forehead: pic.twitter.com/bLpSe0ZaBF— Will Rawle (@willrawle) July 31, 2019
WHAT IS ON PETE BUTTIGIEG’S FOREHEAD. this is the only thing I, a voting citizen, care about and no one is addressing it
— business babushka (@bargainac) July 31, 2019
After the first commercial break, the smudge was gone. But Twitter continued to demand answers.
What the fuck happened to the thing on Pete’s forehead?? #DemDebate #DemocraticDebate
— cautiouslyBRRAAAAP!timistic (@SansSandwich) July 31, 2019
Why is no one talking about whatever was on Mayor Pete’s forehead for the first half of the debate and where did it go? #DemocraticDebate
— steppingonants (@steppingonants) July 31, 2019
Elizabeth Warren had a plan for erasing Pete Buttigieg’s forehead cut. And it worked!
— Ben Mankiewicz (@BenMank77) July 31, 2019
The social-media buzz was so distinct that MSNBC’s Brian Williams began the network’s post-debate coverage by saying they would get to the bottom of what that thing was.
Finally, around midnight, Buttigieg’s spokesperson Lis Smith ended the mystery: “It was a gnat!” she tweeted. “Apparently a very gnatty debate — but unfazed as always Pete Buttigieg pushed forward.”
It was a gnat! Apparently a very gnatty debate- but unfazed as always, @PeteButtigieg pushed forward https://t.co/2jAzokBWSe
— Lis Smith (@Lis_Smith) July 31, 2019
On CNN’s New Day Wednesday morning, host Alisyn Camerota asked Buttigieg about the smudge.
“All right, so our best guess is that it — there were these little, kind of gnats around,” said Buttigieg. “Maybe I smushed one and it got on my forehead. I don’t know. I didn’t know about it until after. That’s the thing about having something on your forehead. But hopefully it didn’t distract from the message about what’s at stake in this election.”
“It shows lightning-quick reflexes,” said co-host John Berman.
“Well, you want to show that you can do many things at once in this election,” said Buttigieg.
Question: “Did you have a smudge on your forehead last night? And what was that?”
Pete Buttigieg: “Alright, so our best guess is that there were these little kind of gnats around. Maybe I smushed one and it got on my forehead. I don’t know.” https://t.co/rFcPbFwoxh pic.twitter.com/DsQm6SHIT0
— The Hill (@thehill) July 31, 2019
As for the substance that wasn’t on his face, Buttigieg attracted good reviews for his performance Tuesday night, with most polls showing him near the top of the ten-person field.
The erstwhile gnat now joins the Live TV Political Schmutz hall of fame, along with Joe Kennedy’s overuse of Chapstick before his State of the Union response and that white thing on Ted Cruz’s lips during a 2016 Republican debate.
As for Buttigieg’s comments on a salsa/ranch dressing combo, that controversy showed signs of raging into a third day.
Buttigieg weighs in on mixing salsa and ranch: don’t be “doctrinaire” unless you’ve tried it. pic.twitter.com/ObAodsf0MW
— Seema (@LATSeema) July 30, 2019
