FILE – In this March 27, 2015 file photo, South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg speaks about the area’s opposition to the recently signed religious freedom legislation in downtown South Bend. Buttigieg has come out as gay in a newspaper editorial. The first-term Democratic mayor says in the personal essay published Tuesday, June 16 in the South Bend Tribune that he was well into adulthood before he was prepared to acknowledge that he’s gay. (Greg Swiercz/South Bend Tribune via AP)
On Sunday, Pete Buttigieg had a lot to say — about you.
Appearing on CNN’s State of the Union, Pete was asked about his previous shellacking of those dastardly doers of degenerate deeds — Trump supporters.
Host Jake Tapper put it to him this way:
“One of your closing arguments in Iowa is that you can win over Republican voters. I know a number of your precinct captains are former Trump voters…but Republicans have been seizing, including in a new Trump ad, on a statement you made, saying, ‘Anyone who supported this President is, at best, looking the other way on racism.’ You’ve also said that on my show. That’s almost 63 million Americans who you’re painting with a pretty broad brush. Do you regret saying that at all?”
So, upon further consideration, does he now have a message of “Trump voters aren’t racist”?
“No. I’m very concerned about the racial division that this president has fostered, and I’m meeting a lot of voters who are no longer willing to look the other way on that, looking for a new political home, and I think it’s one of the reasons that we have seen so many people – in addition to the die-hard Democrats who are coming to our events – we’re seeing independents and a remarkable number of people who tell me that they are those future former Republicans that I like to talk about in our campaign. And it’s not that I am pretending to be more conservative than I am, but that if we don’t agree on everything, we can at least agree on turning the page and moving past what this president has done to the country.”
Therefore, it seems, the movement in this country — as per Pete’s view — is one of Republicans abandoning their party and joining the Democrats.
Is there more of that than the other way around?
As noted by The Daily Wire, Pete went after Trumpers in August of 2019:
Tapper asked Buttigieg if he believed that “to cast a vote for President Trump in 2020” is a “racist act” due to the fact that the candidate had previously described President Trump as a “white nationalist.”
Buttigieg replied: “Well at best, it means looking the other way on racism. Basically what he’s saying is, ‘All right, I want you to look the other way on the racism, tolerate the negativity, accept the instability of my administration because I’m going to deliver for you job growth almost as good as the Obama years.’ That’s what his argument amounts to now and it’s part of the reason why he’s unpopular.”
Speaking of popularity, Pete’s numbers have been down as of late; he’s currently placing 5th with 6.7%, in contrast to August’s double digits. In late November-early December, he even scaled the heights of 16%.
But maybe he’ll make a comeback: Perhaps all those racist Trump supporters will decide they really, really like Buttigieg’s style — of calling them racist Trump supporters. So they’ll stop supporting Trump and change the country, for Pete’s sake.
He could really use the boost, as he’s in third place in Iowa (Bernie’s currently besting Biden).
But — and I’m only guessing here — the best way to get the endorsement of people probably isn’t to call them racist.
Or maybe it’s a genius move.
-ALEX
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