Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) went after Pete Buttigieg at Friday night’s Democratic presidential debate for saying he was “exhausted” by the coverage of President Trump’s Senate impeachment trial. “What you said Pete, as you were campaigning through Iowa, as three of us were jurors in the impeachment hearing, you said it was exhausting to watch, and that you wanted to turn the channel and watch cartoons,” she said. Klobuchar continued, saying “it is easy to go after Washington” and “much harder to lead and much harder to take those difficult positions.” “I think having some experience is a good thing,” she added. Klobuchar officials previewed that line of attack on Buttigieg for several days.

Buttigieg sought to clarify his comments in his response to Klobuchar, saying, “When I talk about exhaustion... we feel a sense of exhaustion from the dysfunction and division there.” “That’s not to take anything away from the very good work you and the senators are doing,” he added. “But the reason I raise that exhaustion is I see it—I see the temptation to walk away from it all.” “This is 2020—this is an election year,” he continued. “If the Senate was the jury before, you are the jury now. The American people are the jury that will have the final verdict on this president and on the senators in the GOP who protected him.”