CLAREMONT, NH — Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg, who is mayor of South Bend, IN, appeared Sunday night on FOX News for a town hall-style meeting broadcast from Stevens High School in Claremont.
If you missed the broadcast, we’ve got it here for you in three parts — it will take you about 45 minutes to binge-watch.
In Part 1 Buttigieg discusses his youth, leadership experience, inclusive policy plans, abortion, drug addiction and debt with moderator Chris Wallace.
In Part 2, Buttigieg discusses Americans accepting a gay president, reaching minority voters, fighting Twitter attacks from President Trump and his decision to appear on Fox News with moderator Chris Wallace in Claremont, New Hampshire.
In Part 3, Buttigieg discusses lessons learned from his military service, student debt and his plan to do away with the Electoral College.
During the interview, Buttigieg addressed his decision to appear on FOX News, President Trump’s Tweets, and abortion and reproductive rights, and what makes his campaign different. His comments are excerpted below:
On appearing on FOX News:
“You know a lot of folks in my party were critical of me for even doing this with FOX News. And I get where that’s coming from, especially when you see what’s going on with some of the opinion hosts on this network. I mean when you’ve got Tucker Carlson saying that immigrants make America dirty, when you’ve got Laura Ingraham comparing detention centers with children in cages to summer camps — summer camps — then there is a reason why — everyone has to swallow hard and think twice before participating in this media ecosystem. But I also believe that even though some of those hosts are not always there in good faith, I think a lot of people tune into this network who do do it in good faith. And there are a lot of Americans that my party can’t blame if they are ignoring our message because they will never hear it if we don’t go on and talk about it. And so it’s why, whether it’s going on the viewership of FOX News or whether geographically it’s going into places where Democrats haven’t been seen much, I think we have to find people where they are — not change our values, but update our vocabulary so that we’re truly connecting with Americans from coast to coast.”
On President Trump’s “insults, attacks and Tweets” [as framed by Chris Wallace]
“I think that we need to make sure that we’re changing the channel from this show that [President Trump’s] created, because what matters, and I get it. Look, it’s mesmerizing, it’s hard for anyone to look away. It is the nature of grotesque things that you can’t look away. But every time we’re looking at the show and the latest tweet and the latest silly insult, what we’re not looking at is the fact that we’re the ones trying to get you a raise, and they’re the ones blocking it. We’re the ones trying to preserve your health care and they’re the ones trying to take it away. We’re the ones who are actually prepared to deliver on something like paid family leave, and they’re against it. Their positions, as a general rule, are unpopular, and if you focus on what’s going to happen in your life, in other words if we make it less about him and more about you, paradoxically I actually think that’s the best way to defeat him.”
On reproductive rights:
“I believe that the right of a woman to make her own decisions about her reproductive health and about her body is a national right. I believe it is an American freedom. And I believe that should be enjoyed by women in every state. Now being a Democrat with pro-choice values who lives and governs in a community in Indiana, I get that there are a lot of passionate views on this, a lot of people I care about, there’s even some of my supporters believe differently than I do, but that’s what I believe. And I believe that the next president needs to be ready to protect those rights.
“First of all, and the simplest thing, is appointing justices and judges who recognize that is a part of American freedom. Another is to make sure that we’re not starving America of resources not just for that kind of reproductive care, abortion care, but all kinds of reproductive care. If we really care about women, if we really care about life, then we’ve got to make sure from common sense sex education to access to birth control, that we’re preventing many of those unwanted pregnancies from happening in the first place.
“I think the dialogue has gotten so caught up on where you draw the line that we’ve away from the fundamental question of who gets to draw the line and I trust women to draw the line when it’s their own health.”
On why his campaign is different
“Look — what we’re trying to do here is different. Because the moment that we’re in is different. I get that a millennial midwestern mayor is not what leaps to mind when you think about a prototypical candidate for president. But I also think that if it’s hard to figure out what’s going on right now, it’s because we are living on one of those blank pages in between chapters in American history. And what comes next could be ugly — or it could be amazing. And I believe running for office is an act of hope. And so is voting for somebody, and supporting somebody, and volunteering for somebody. I hope you’ll join me in making sure that that next era is better than any that we’ve had so far.”
