Pete Buttigieg on Saturday used one of President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign slogans — “drain the swamp” — to argue that the bottom line of today’s Republican leaders is “not our bottom line.”

The former transportation secretary spoke at the Texas Democratic Party’s Johnson-Jordan Dinner in Dallas, according to a clip from MeidasTouch Network’s Luke Radel, in which Buttigieg said, “A lot of people believed him when he said he was going to drain the swamp.”

He added, “And then we wake up to see billions in crypto money going right into his pockets and corporate lobbyists getting their way everywhere from the AI industry to my old haunts at the U.S. Department of Transportation. ‘Drain the swamp.’”

Buttigieg noted that he was in Washington, D.C., on Friday and went for a run on the National Mall.

“And I couldn’t help but thinking, as I rounded the edge of the mall, that the only thing he’s actually managed to drain is that reflecting pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial,” said Buttigieg, prompting laughs from the crowd.

“So forgive us if we don’t believe him when he says he’s going to give everybody $5,000, but only after the election and only if they win,” he added, referring to Trump’s idea to send Americans “dividend” checks, a proposal that’s estimated to cost $1.2 trillion and has been likened to a “bribe.”

Buttigieg, a potential 2028 presidential candidate, continued by referencing Congress’ seven-week pre-midterms recess.

“You know, if Republicans really wanted to give everybody a few thousand dollars,” he said, “they would have done it this week instead of going home for two months in the middle of multiple national crises.”

Buttigieg: “Drain the swamp.” I am rarely in Washington these days, but as chance would have it, I was there yesterday. Went out for a run on the National Mall and couldn’t help but think that the only thing he’s actually managed to drain is that Reflecting Pool in front of the… pic.twitter.com/5lw2K3mDyM

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