Tag: pete buttigieg
Pete Buttigieg

On Ohio Train Disaster, Buttigieg Retort To Trump Goes Viral (VIDEO)

Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg’s response to Donald Trump’s refusal to accept any responsibility for the impact his massive deregulations have had went viral on Thursday with video of him encouraging the ex-president to support the Biden administration’s rail safety tefforts..

During his visit to the scene of the Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio on Thursday, a reporter asked Buttigieg, “You mentioned the national political figures decided to get involved, it sounds like you’re talking about Trump. And then you said, ‘I need your help.’ How can he help?”

Buttigieg replied, “Well, one thing he could do is express support for reversing the deregulation that happened on his watch. I heard him say he had ‘nothing to do with it,’ even though it was in his administration. So if he had nothing to do with it, and they did it in his administration against his will, maybe he could come out and say that, that he supports us moving in a different direction.”

“We’re not afraid to own our policies when it comes to raising the bar on regulation,” Buttigieg continued. “And I’ve got to think that [Trump] indicating that this is something that everybody ,no matter how much you disagree on politics and presidential campaigns, can get behind – higher fines, tougher regulations on safety, Congress on tying our hands on breaking rules, all the other things that go with it -- that’d be a nice thing for him to do.”

Buttigieg was referring to Trump’s visit to the town of East Palestine just one day earlier, where instead of tossing paper towels at destitute hurricane victims, Trump handed out red MAGA caps at a McDonald’s and used “Trump”-branded bottled water to ensure voters knew he had been there.

During Trump’s Wednesday visit, a reporter asked him about the train derailment, which resulted in the release of toxic gases, under the direction of GOP Governor Mike DeWine.

“I had nothing to do with it,” Trump told a reporter who asked about him “pulling back rail regulations” when he was president, something he did indeed do.

Instead, Trump quickly blamed the “airports” on Buttigieg, claiming they are like “a third world nation,” although the former president never improved them on his watch and the Biden administration actually passed and signed into law a massive infrastructure bill, one that Trump, despite many promises, never was able to pass.

The Recount on Wednesday, pointing to an ABC News article, noted that the “Trump administration withdrew regulations connected to ‘high hazard’ trains, which critics say made it more likely a derailment like the kind in East Palestine would happen.”

Meanwhile, Buttigieg’s response to Trump’s remarks have gone viral. In just 24 hours the video (above) of Buttigieg has garnered nearly 2 million views.

Journalists, critics, and commentators on social media are praising the transportation secretary.

“Never really understood why Republicans think picking fights with him is a good idea,” HuffPost White House correspondent S.V. Dáte tweeted. “He is hands down the Biden administration’s best communicator, he takes apart the criticisms, turns them back on the critics, and does it all without sounding mad.”

“Absolutely incredible,” said podcaster and former Biden delegate Victor Shi. “Pete Buttigieg proves once again why he remains one of the best communicators and assets Democrats have. Very few people can respond to journalists and call out Republicans as effectively as Pete Buttigieg.”

Social media influencer and political commentator JoJoFromJerz, who has over 780,000 followers on Twitter, called it “an absolute masterclass on how to handle donald j. trump.”

And author Tod Goldberg noted, “When Pete starts to smile, you know you’re about to find yourself in the ‘find out’ portion of the show.”

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

Pete Buttigieg giving speech.

Biden Will Nominate Buttigieg for Transportation Secretary, Sources Say

President-elect Joe Biden is reportedly going to name former Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg to play an essential role in Biden's ambitious infrastructure plan as transportation secretary, according to multiple sources.

The role of transportation secretary is an especially important job in the Biden administration which promises a "sustainable infrastructure" plan that heavily relies on the Department of Transportation (DOT). In Biden's plan, he promises to reach "net-zero emissions, economy-wide, by no later than 2050."

According to POLITICO, the 38 year-old Rhodes Scholar and Afghanistan veteran was eyeing the position of United Nations Ambassador, until that post was given to Linda Thomas-Greenfield.

Instead, Buttigieg will play an important role in bringing Biden's infrastructure plan to fruition, even though he doesn't have much experience with transportation. The young former mayor has had a meteoric rise in American politics -- and Biden gave him the "highest compliment I can give any man or woman" by comparing him to his late son Beau, back when Buttigieg delivered his endorsement to Biden in the primaries. If confirmed, Buttigieg will be the first openly gay Cabinet secretary in U.S. history, as Biden has promised a diverse cabinet.

#EndorseThis: Mayor Pete Subs For Kimmel — And The Joke’s On Him

Perhaps Pete Buttigieg — who used to be mayor of SouthBend, Indiana and more recently ran for the Democratic presidential nomination –is looking for a new job. He took over Jimmy Kimmel Live as guest host onThursday night in the strangest possible circumstances – a theater with nostudio audience due to coronavirus restrictions. Instead, they faked a greenscreencrowd, “just like Trump’s inauguration,” he quipped.

Buttigieg quickly pivoted to ask that viewers contactCongress to demand support for the House Democratic legislative package,projecting the Capitol phone number onscreen (202-224-3121).

The poised former mayor smoothly handled the scripted jokes –aimed mostly at him – as well as his political message. And even if you’ve seenit already, you don’t want to miss his clip of Sarah Palin making a fool ofherself on The Masked Singer.

“That’s going to be me in three months, isn’t it?” he mused.

Click and chortle.

#EndorseThis: Mayor Pete Subs For Kimmel — And The Joke’s On Him

Perhaps Pete Buttigieg — who used to be mayor of SouthBend, Indiana and more recently ran for the Democratic presidential nomination –is looking for a new job. He took over Jimmy Kimmel Live as guest host onThursday night in the strangest possible circumstances – a theater with nostudio audience due to coronavirus restrictions. Instead, they faked a greenscreencrowd, “just like Trump’s inauguration,” he quipped.

Buttigieg quickly pivoted to ask that viewers contactCongress to demand support for the House Democratic legislative package,projecting the Capitol phone number onscreen (202-224-3121).

The poised former mayor smoothly handled the scripted jokes –aimed mostly at him – as well as his political message. And even if you’ve seenit already, you don’t want to miss his clip of Sarah Palin making a fool ofherself on The Masked Singer.

“That’s going to be me in three months, isn’t it?” he mused.

Click and chortle.