President Donald Trump on Friday offered a nickname to Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg: Alfred E. Neuman – Mad Magazine's freckled face-covered boy.
But Buttigieg returned with his own zinger, marking the age of the 72-year-old president, claiming that the obsolete reference was a "generational thing".
Trump told Politico Friday that "Alfred E. Neuman can not become president of the United States," when he was asked during a phone interview what he thought of the mayor of South Bend, in Indiana.
Asked later about his new nickname, Buttigieg, 37, said he had "to Google" the reference to the mascot of a humor magazine launched in 1952.
"I guess it's just a generational thing. I did not have the reference. It's pretty funny, I guess, "said Buttigieg.
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WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 23: The mayor of South Bend, in Indiana, Pete Buttigeig, speaks at a press conference on January 23, 2019 in Washington, DC. Buttigeig held a press conference to announce that he was forming an exploratory committee to run for the Democratic nomination for the presidency. (Photo by Alex Wong / Getty Images)
END OF NIGHT WITH SETH MEYERS – Episode 547 – Pictured: (left) Mayor of South Bend, Indiana, Pete Buttigieg, during an interview with host Seth Meyers on June 22, 2017 – ( Photo by: Lloyd Bishop / NBC / NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)
Pete Buttigieg, Mayor of South Bend, in central Indiana, talks with attendees during a campaign stop in Ankeny, Iowa, United States , Friday, February 8, 2019. A wave of proposals to impose new taxes on the ultra-rich, extend health insurance to all Americans and ensure that the university is debt-free reflects the rapid change of the party Democrat who sees in a brutal left turn the way to overthrow President Donald Trump. Photographer: Daniel Acker / Bloomberg via Getty Images
Pete Buttigieg, Mayor of South Bend, Indiana, speaking at a campaign stop in Ankeny, Iowa, United States, on Friday, February 8, 2019 A wave of proposals to impose new taxes on ultra-rich, expand health insurance to all Americans and the fact that the university is debt free reflect the rapid change of the Democratic Party, who sees in a brutal left turn the way to defeat President Donald Trump. Photographer: Daniel Acker / Bloomberg via Getty Images
THE VIEW – The mayor of South Bend, in Indiana, and the Democratic presidential candidate, Pete Buttigieg, are visiting 'The View & # 39; on ABC on Thursday, January 31, 2019. "The View & # 39; is broadcast Monday to Friday (11 am-12pm, New York time). on the ABC television network.
(Photo by Lorenzo Bevilaqua / ABC via Getty Images)
JOY BEHAR, PETER BUTTIGIEG, SOLEIL HOSTIN
Mayor of South Bend, Indiana, Pete Buttigieg, who is studying for a presidential candidacy, speaks at the University of Chicago on February 13, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Joshua Lott / AFP) (Photo credit should match JOSHUA LOTT / AFP / Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – FEBRUARY 14: The 32nd Mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and 2020 Democratic Presidential Candidate Pete Buttigieg arrive at The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at Ed Sullivan Theater on February 14, 2019 in New York. (Photo by Gilbert Carrasquillo / GC Images)
AUSTIN, TX – MARCH 09: Pete Buttigieg sings on stage at America's Future Conference: Mayor Pete Buttigieg at the 2019 SXSW Conference in Austin City Limits lives at Moody's Theater on March 8, 2019 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Hutton Supancic / Getty Images for SXSW)
New York – February 13: The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and Pete Buttigieg invited to the show on Thursday, February 14, 2019. (Photo by Scott Kowalchyk / CBS via Getty Images)
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He added that he was "surprised" that Trump did not "spend more time trying to save this deal with China".
Others have also piled on Trump. New York Times political reporter Maggie Haberman tweeted that the Neuman reference would have worked better 20 years ago.
Mad did a little dig in Buttigieg:
In Politico's interview, Trump seemed to imply that Buttigieg, who is gay, was not strong enough to face America's international rivals. "It will be great to represent us against Chinese President Xi," Trump said slyly. "That will be great. I want to be in this room, I want to watch that one. "
Buttigieg, a former Rhodes Scholar and Naval Reserve Intelligence Officer, served in Afghanistan. Trump dodged the bill a few decades earlier because of "bone" spines. He told shock of shock, Howard Stern, that he was suffering from his "personal Vietnam" during this period by avoiding sexually transmitted diseases asleep with women. "I feel like a very courageous big soldier," he said (video below).
This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
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