Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg went on Fox News on Sunday to refute Trump and Fox’s attacks on Kamala Harris.
Asked about the right’s “concerns” about Harris, Buttigieg said:
The idea that someone hasn’t been tested or vetted after nearly four years as Vice President of the United States makes no sense. She is clearly one of the most high-profile leadership figures in the country, demonstrating both her effectiveness in the job and a vision of the country that Americans can identify with. That’s really why I think she’s going to win, because most Americans already agree with her on the issues that matter most to them and that affect them the most, whether we’re talking about choices or her stance on defending women’s rights. Choose against Donald Trump, who has taken away the choice in this regard. To be fair, he sent it back to the United States. Let’s be very clear. He was proud that he had abolished the national option during this national period.
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In this country’s land laws, citizens have had the right to choose for 50 years, and the vast majority of Americans believe this is the right thing to do. But Donald Trump made a promise when he was a candidate. That was one of the few promises that he actually delivered on, and by the way, you know, he didn’t deliver on the promise of 6 percent economic growth. He did not keep his promise to deal with it by draining the swamp. Okay, but even before the pandemic, even before the pandemic, the United States was in a manufacturing recession, and that really hurt places like the industrial Midwest where I come from. But anyway, my point is my point is that he broke his promise to grow this economy. He broke his promise to pass an infrastructure bill, right? He said he would do it, but he didn’t. The Biden-Harris administration has done just that.
He even broke a promise to the rioters on January 6, when he said, I will be by your side as you march on the Capitol. We actually did keep both promises. He followed through on his promise to destroy choice in this country, delivering on his promise to cut taxes for the wealthy.
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Pete Buttigieg dismissed Trump’s attack on Harris on Fox News on Sunday, saying “the idea that someone hasn’t been tested or vetted after almost four years as vice president of the United States just doesn’t make any sense.” pic.twitter.com/532ypjnUsb
— Sarah Rhys Jones (@PoliticusSarah) July 28, 2024
Buttigieg went on a show produced by Fox News and told America in very clear terms why they should vote for Kamala Harris and why they shouldn’t vote for Donald Trump.
There is some support on social media for a Harris-Buttigieg ticket, but that’s unlikely, much like why Buttigieg failed to take off during the 2020 primary. Pete Buttigieg is popular with Democrats nationally, but he won’t help Harris win swing states in 2024 the way Josh Shapiro or Mark Kelly did.
Pete Buttigieg is a very effective messenger to key voters. Buttigieg reached out to Democrats watching Fox. Ratings data for 2022 shows that 42% of Democrats ages 25 to 54 watch Fox News. Fifty-eight percent of young independents also watch Fox News during the day. Buttigieg reached all of these voters, and his message on “Fox News Sunday” was devastating to Donald Trump.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of Society of Professional Journalists and American Political Science Association
