Pete Buttigieg pushes back on Biden’s record in testy Fox News interview – Washington Examiner

Asher NotheisAugust 20, 2024

In a heated interview on Fox News,‍ Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg defended President Joe Biden and the⁤ Democratic Party’s record against criticisms from co-anchor Lawrence Jones. The discussion began with Jones questioning ⁤whether concerns about Biden’s capacity to serve played a role in his decision ⁢not to run for reelection. Buttigieg countered by criticizing what he⁤ described as “conservative media” narratives about Biden, insisting that the president’s choice was indicative of his ability to prioritize public service over personal ego, ‍contrasting him with former President Donald Trump.

Buttigieg acknowledged questions about Biden’s verbal slips but emphasized accomplishments during Biden’s⁤ presidency. When asked about how the Democratic Party would address rising inflation and crime rates, he pointed out that violent crime also increased during Trump’s ‌administration and attributed inflation to global issues stemming from⁣ the COVID-19 pandemic. The exchange reflected ongoing tensions between the Democratic and Republican narratives as‌ the 2024 election approaches.

Pete Buttigieg pushes back on Biden’s record in testy Fox News interview

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg pushed back against Fox News on President Joe Biden and the Democratic Party’s record, with the exchanges between the two getting heated throughout the interview.

The feud started when Buttigieg was asked if reports on Biden’s inability to serve as president had any role in the now-outgoing president’s decision to no longer pursue his reelection bid. Buttigieg then chided “conservative media” for pushing the idea that the Republican Party is continuing to run against Biden, prompting Fox & Friends co-anchor Lawrence Jones to argue that these reports were not from conservative media.

When pressed about why Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential race, Buttigieg said it was because the president was able to “put his ego aside” and that this is something former President Donald Trump is not able to do.

“You can go over whether he slips up and says one name when he wants to say another name, or you can look at what he’s actually accomplished as president,” Buttigieg said on Fox News’s Fox & Friends. “It turns out he’s really good at being president of the United States.”

Buttigieg was then asked how the Democratic Party could defend the Biden-Harris administration’s record ahead of the election, and he was shown data indicating that both inflation and crime were up under their watch. The transportation secretary then said violent crime went up under Trump’s leadership in office and that inflation affected many countries after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Regarding crime, Jones pushed back on why the Democratic Party “sent the calvary in” to protect the Democratic National Convention in Chicago and asked why the city does not see this on a day-to-day basis. Buttigieg responded by saying that politicians need to ask what they can do to stop gun violence and argued the Biden administration has been hard at work on this.

Buttigieg is set to speak at the DNC on Wednesday night, which will also feature Harris’s 2024 running mate Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN), former President Bill Clinton, and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).

On Monday night, Trump announced that he plans to conduct a “tele-town hall” on Fox News on Sept. 4, the date the former president offered to debate Harris on the network. Less than a week later, he and the vice president will appear on ABC News to partake in a presidential debate.