Pete Buttigieg Grilled on CNN of All Places

PETE BUTTIGIEG U.S. TRANSPORTATION SUSPECARY: It’s a pleasure to be with you.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: So, the — this suspected Chinese spy alone entered U.S. airspace eight days ago, two Saturdays ago, in Alaska. Why didn’t the U.S. shoot it down when it became obvious that this wasn’t an accident?

BUTTIGIEG

As, you may have seen, there’s reporting now that the debris field that was created by this balloon when it was shot down was about seven miles’ long. So, any time the military contemplates an operation like this, they must consider the safety and well-being of the American people.

President Obama demanded that this be addressed in a way that balances all the risks. That’s exactly what happened. The military did an outstanding job. The safety of the national airspace is our primary concern from the DOT perspective.

This was because it was higher than where flight operations take place. Any debris would have traveled through the national airspace. The FAA and the Pentagon work closely together. In this case, they had to make ground stops at the Eastern Seaboard airports, as well as close some of the airspace, to ensure that everything was safe during the operation.

The operation was conducted without any injury or damage to American property or lives.

TAPPER: Obviously, that’s great that there were no Americans hurt by this.

But is it acceptable that there were eight days that the spy sat — spy balloon was over the United States, then Canada, then again over the United States, from Idaho, Montana, all the way through the Carolinas for day after day?

BUTTIGIEG: Well, as the U.S. has communicated, it’s not acceptable at all that China sent this object into our airspace.

But in terms of how to handle it, that’s something that was done based on assessment of the risks, making sure that there was no risks that outweighed the risks in terms of any damage that would come, and it was handled appropriately.

TAPPER: You say that there was a debris field of seven miles over the Atlantic Ocean, where it was shot down.

Can you tell us, if any, what has been recovered? Obviously, there’s a lot of interest in getting the material, getting the debris and being able to conduct intelligence operations of our own, of the United States’ own, against the Chinese for this balloon.

BUTTIGIEG: I really can’t. Everything about the tactics, timing, and manner of it all ultimately comes down to the Pentagon.

I’m just glad that there was no damage or threat to U.S. aviation operations, and that this operation took place, was done in a very effective, excellent way, as you would expect from the American military, without any consequences for Americans on the ground.

TAPPER : Senators and governors have a lot to worry about. The balloon may have flown and gathered intelligence over sensitive parts of the United States’ infrastructure.

There’s Malmstrom Air Force Base and nuclear ballistic missile fields in Montana, if you look at the map there, Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, Scott Air Force Base in Illinois, Fort Bragg and Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.

Is it true that the balloon was capable of gathering sensitive information and transferring it back to China?

BUTTIGIEG

This is a country with a space program. So, I don’t know all the ins and outs of what this balloon was doing or what its capabilities were. The fact that the president issued the order for this to be handled means that the military weighed the risks and benefits of each approach, made the right decisions, and brought the thing down without any problems.

TAPPER: Right.

However, it is likely that the Chinese could gather intelligence from the United States by hovering above them for many days, particularly at some of these sensitive locations.

BUTTIGIEG: I’m sure there’s a similar presumption about what spy satellites do. This is way beyond my realm of expertise. I’m just glad that nobody was hurt as this thing came down.

TAPPER: When was the Biden administration informed about this spy balloon entering U.S. airspace, and how did it get there?

We’re told it first did so, it first entered U.S. airspace over Alaska two Saturdays ago. Did the Biden administration learn about it that day?

BUTTIGIEG: I really can’t speak to that.

I can only speak to the excellent cooperation between the FAA, Pentagon, and other agencies to ensure that any special military operation, such as the one that brought down the balloon, is conducted without threatening American luxury property.

TAPPER: Will there be any consequences for this topic other than shoving it down? Will the Chinese government be — sanctions — or sanctioned or penalized in any way?

BUTTIGIEG : The U.S. has made it clear that this is an unacceptable intrusion in American sovereignty.

And I think you can expect that any further developments will be in — appropriate in response to what happened.

TAPPER – So President Biden will be giving the State of the Union address Tuesday. He’s going to have a new person sitting behind him, the new Republican House speaker, Kevin McCarthy.

Kevin McCarthy must be consulted for anything President Biden wishes to do in the next two years. Do we expect the president will list all the things that won’t happen under House Republican leadership or will it be about ways and locations where Republicans and Democrats can collaborate, areas where there is common interest?

BUTTIGIEG: I’m really looking forward to the State of the Union, because, first of all, there are so many accomplishments to talk about. Many of these accomplishments were achieved on a bipartisan basis.

There was almost snickering after the president declared that it was possible to pass historic infrastructure legislation, historic financial legislation, and it could be done on a bipartisan base. But that’s what happened.

And so I think the hand continues to be outstretched to anyone, including anyone across the aisle, who’s prepared to work with us to get things done. But let’s talk about what we have to show for that even just in the two years that the administration has been here, we just saw the latest round of job numbers that came out, record low unemployment, the lowest we have had in more than 50 years.

Inflation usually rises when unemployment is low. At the moment, both unemployment and inflation are falling. We’re talking about the most jobs created under any president in this period, matter of fact, the president creating more jobs in two years than you have seen typically in four, and coupled with things that Republicans often say that is very important to them, like deficit reduction, historic reduction of the deficit, to the tune of $1.7 trillion under this president.

You look at what’s been done in two years, and I think the president is going to be going into the State of the Union speech with a context of extraordinary, historic accomplishment.

With that, I believe, there is a wind at the back, even with the House in the hands of a party to the contrary, to say, OK. What else can we do for the benefit American people? First, keep this amazing economic growth going. Then, deal with other priorities that are important to people, regardless of whether they’re in red or purple areas.

TAPPER – Ron Klain (the chief of staff) left the White House just a few short days ago.

He also mentioned that President Biden would be running for reelection on Election Day in 2024 in his farewell remarks. He will turn 81 in 2024. Already, Republicans like Ron DeSantis or Nikki Haley seem to be making a generational argument. Whether that’s aimed at Biden or Trump, it doesn’t really matter. They’re both in advanced years.

Similar arguments were made by your opponent Joe Biden when you ran for president. Is it possible that it might work in 2024, or are you concerned?

BUTTIGIEG – Generational arguments can be very powerful. These arguments can be powerful, as you mentioned.

Results are the most persuasive argument. And you can’t argue — at least, I would say you can’t argue with a straight face that it isn’t a good thing that we have had 12 million jobs created under this president. Manufacturing is a large part of these jobs.

As somebody who grew up in the Industrial Midwest, it’s been so moving to see hundreds of thousands of good-paying manufacturing jobs being created, including in rural areas, small towns in places like Tennessee and Louisiana, and Georgia and Indiana, the kind of growth that benefits the entire American people.

And I think, when you look at that, when you look at what America was up against when President Biden took office, and what has been delivered, again, just in these first two years of this administration, let alone what’s possible as we actually start entering more and more, for example, of the construction phase on the infrastructure law, I think those results are going to continue to accumulate and people will toss whatever argument they can into the mix that they think is going to benefit them the most.

But, at the end of the day, you can’t argue with the extraordinary accomplishments, more than almost any other modern president, that President Biden has achieved, again, under the toughest of circumstances.

TAPPER – Speaking of the Industrial Midwest: You recently switched from Indiana (a Republican-leaning Industrial Midwest State), to Michigan (a Democratic-leaning Industrial Midwest State).

Senator Debbie Stabenow said that she won’t be running for reelection. Your spouse and two children live in Michigan. Is it your intention to run for that Senate seat in the future?

BUTTIGIEG: No. But I really…

TAPPER: No, you’re not, period?

BUTTIGIEG: I’m planning to vote in that election as a resident of Michigan.

But I will admit that the job I have is, in my opinion, the best job in government. You can find it very challenging and difficult, as there are many problems the transportation system has faced, but it is also extremely rewarding.

And I’m proud to be part of an administration that is doing more on transportation than has happened in my lifetime, and then some. This much work has been done since the Eisenhower Administration to fix roads and bridges across this country. This country has done less to improve rail service since Amtrak was founded.

It takes 110 percent my time. Of course, I am at the president’s pleasure. But as long as he is willing to have me continue doing this work, I’m proud to be part of this team.

TAPPER

BUTTIGIEG, Thank you. It’s a pleasure.