I frequently hear Buttigieg's name being tossed around as a 2028 frontrunner for the Dems.
I have responded the same way for years, including pre-2020:
Buttigieg will never be the nominee because he will always get 0% black support, and black voters comprise 25% of the Democratic primary votes.
Many Dems are afraid to address the real reason he has zero black support. They claim he looks and acts stereotypically white, and black voters can't relate to him. Bullshit. Hillary Clinton looks and acts stereotypically white, and she got plenty of black support. Same with Joe Biden.
The real reason black people don't support Buttigieg is simple:
There is still a ton of homophobia in the black community, which nobody wants to talk about. They would not vote for a gay Presidential candidate, whether he's black or white.
Even Stephen A. Smith was afraid to directly say it, but he strongly implied it:
https://twitter.com/VigilantFox/status/1954024407686369324
Funny enough, Buttigieg would have a better chance as a Republican, as the base is more willing to embrace gay figures who otherwise agree with them. Don't believe me? Look at Peter Thiel's prominence, and look at the meteoric rise of Milo Yiannapolos in 2010s before he ruined himself by supporting pedophilia.