Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg brilliantly used facts to counter the falsehoods being spouted by Fox News host Lawrence Jones when the secretary appeared on the network to discuss the 2024 election and this week’s Democratic National Convention.
Jones challenged Buttigieg to defend the Biden administration’s actions against crime in the United States, claiming that violent crime was up 10% across 66 major cities.
“Well, certainly the Biden-Harris record for bringing crime down compared to why crime went up under Donald Trump, and I often wonder whether viewers of this network are aware that violent crime went up under Donald Trump,” Buttigieg said. “I think that deserves more coverage so we can ask ourselves why, and some of that has to do with policy. Some of that has to do with the message we send. When you have Donald Trump, an unrepentant convicted criminal running against a prosecutor like Kamala Harris, we have an opportunity to send a message about whether we’re serious on law and order in this country or whether it’s a talking point, or whether it’s just something people try to use as a political theme for partisan gain. You want to talk about inflation? Inflation went up in every country after COVID, but we brought inflation down in this country.”
Jones attempted to interrupt Buttigieg, but the transportation secretary would have none of it, making his next point despite the host’s rudeness.
“Every election is about the future, right? In the future, economists predict the Trump plan will increase costs for American families by $3,900, so why would we go back to somebody who’s going to make it worse?”
“You guys sent the cavalry in for you guys, for your protection, but the people of Chicago don’t see that on a day-to-day basis,” Jones claimed. “What are you guys going to do to stop the bloodshed in our communities?”
Buttigieg also noted that gun crime is a problem in the U.S., and yet the GOP refuses to pass sensible gun reform legislation.
“The big question, I think, for politics, for policy, for media, is who is going to help them versus who is going to use them. The questions she’s asking are the exact questions that any citizen should be asking.”
When Jones attempted to dodge the gun issue, Buttigieg once again pushed back.
“Donald Trump says no, the Republican Party says no,” Buttigieg said. “Talk about assault weapons, something that made a difference, when that assault weapons ban contributed to a reduction in crime. I remember coming to Chicago as a kid, and by the way, even though some media only want to talk about the worst and most painful things that go on in our cities, Chicago is a proud city, Chicago is an extraordinary city. But I do remember coming here when crime and murder was off the charts.”
Jones then asked Buttigieg to name one Republican leader in Chicago.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa – listen to me,” Buttigieg replied. “Not only did we have those levels of crime under Democratic and Republican leaders, but if you’ll try to cherry pick this for partisan purposes, you want to play that game? So is the case in Boston, where there is a much lower murder rate and also a Democratic mayor. We could talk about the murder rate in Mississippi being double what it is in Illinois. Now I could go around saying that the murder rate in Mississippi being double what it is in Illinois because Mississippi has a Republican governor and Illinois has a Democratic governor, but you and I both know it just doesn’t work that way.”
Pete Buttigieg is a national treasure, and he’s one of the best in the world when it comes to countering the bullshit narratives being spun over at Fox.