Pete Buttigieg in Meet the Press interviews during 2019
On Foreign Policy:
Restore U.S. credibility by leading world on big challenges
My focus will be restoring U.S. credibility by pulling together in the name of American values, that our country at its best has upheld and advanced but are also universal shared values. The U.S. could be restoring our credibility by leading the world
in facing some of the biggest challenges we have, from issues like climate to stability in the global economy, to advancing human rights and democracy, to things like dealing with terrorist threats.
Source: Meet the Press interview for 2019 Democratic primary
Aug 25, 2019
On Free Trade:
Invest in domestic competitiveness to stay ahead of China
My focus, in terms of a China strategy, will be identifying areas of mutual advantage and holding them accountable for the problems. Just realize that they're not going to change their fundamental economic model because we poked them with a few tariffs.
That's why the ultimate way to stay ahead of China is to invest in our domestic competitiveness. Now unfortunately, we're doing the reverse, under-investing in everything from education to infrastructure here at home.
Source: Meet the Press interview for 2019 Democratic primary
Aug 25, 2019
On Technology:
Mustn't let China lead world on artificial intelligence
The fundamental way to stay ahead of China is to invest in our own competitiveness. If they're investing billions more in artificial intelligence than we are, there is a very strong likelihood that they will be running circles around us by the time
I have kids old enough to vote. I don't want to see artificial intelligence being led by China, knowing that their vision is about using technology for the perfection of dictatorship, very different from how these things will work in American hands.
Source: Meet the Press interview for 2019 Democratic primary
Aug 25, 2019
On Crime:
Justice is blind; appointees should uphold that principle
Prosecution decisions shouldn't be made by politicians. Any attorney general that I would appoint is somebody who will faithfully apply the concept that no one is above the law, that everybody ought to be held accountable, whether they're a former
president or whether they're somebody who's never been anywhere near the halls of power. That's the whole point. It's that justice is blind. And I will appoint an attorney general and, for that matter, justices and judges who uphold that principle.
Source: Meet the Press 2019 interview series
Jun 16, 2019
On Foreign Policy:
Regional & global allies have interest in Middle East peace
Our allies in the Middle East are going to be concerned with their own security. We need to make sure that we have tensions deescalate, rather than escalate, when it comes to what's going on there.
It's not only allies in the region, but allies across the globe who have an interest in stopping any pathway toward the Middle East becoming any more violent, any more unstable than it already is.
Source: Meet the Press 2019 interview series
Jun 16, 2019
On Foreign Policy:
Work with allies in region & elsewhere on Middle East
Our allies in the Middle East are going to be concerned, first and foremost, with their own security. We need to make sure that we have tensions deescalate, rather than escalate, when it comes to what's going on there. It's not only allies in the
region, but allies across the globe who have an interest in stopping any pathway toward the Middle East becoming any more violent, any more unstable than it already is.
Source: NBC News Meet the Press 2019 interview
Jun 16, 2019
On Principles & Values:
Rejecting foreign election interference isn't complicated
Q: Let me ask you about accepting foreign interference. If somebody offered your campaign dirt on, on either President Trump or a Democratic candidate, what would you do with that dirt?BUTTIGIEG: You wouldn't do anything with that dirt.
You would call the FBI. This isn't even complicated.
Q: Would you ever look at it?
BUTTIGIEG: The moment that you look at it, you have implicated yourself, and I don't think you would want to do that.
Some things are complicated in politics and ethics. This is not. And this is not theoretical either. A foreign, a hostile foreign power successfully attacked our democracy in the last election,
and there's no indication that they're going to back off from trying to do it in the next election.
Source: Meet the Press 2019 interview on impeaching Trump
Jun 16, 2019
On Principles & Values:
Won't demand prosecution of Trump; that's AG's call
It's not the president's job to prosecute a [former] president. Prosecution decisions shouldn't be made by politicians. Any attorney general
I appoint will faithfully apply the concept that no one is above the law, whether they're a former president or somebody who's never been anywhere near the halls of power. That's the whole point. It's that justice is blind.
Source: NBC News Meet the Press 2019 interview on impeaching Trump
Jun 16, 2019
On Government Reform:
Change the way Supreme Court nominees are picked
"The reform of not just expanding the number of members but doing it in a way where some of them are selected on a consensus, nonpartisan basis, it's a very promising way to do it," Buttigieg said. "There may be others.
But the point is, we've got to get out of where we are now, where any time there is an opening, there is an apocalyptic, ideological firefight. It harms the court, it harms the country and it leads to outcomes like we have right now."
Source: NBC Meet the Press 2019 interviews of presidential hopefuls
Jun 3, 2019
On Abortion:
Abortion is moral question decided by woman, not government
In my view, this is a question that is almost unknowable. This is a moral question that's not going to be settled by science. And so the best way for it to be settled in practice is by the person who actually faces the choice. And when a woman is
facing this decision in her life, I think in terms of somebody besides her who can most be useful in that, the answer to that would be a doctor. Not a male government official imposing his interpretation of his religion.
Source: Meet the Press 2019 interview of 2020 presidential hopefuls
Apr 7, 2019
On Budget & Economy:
Government investment can help minority businesses
We're talking about generational poverty, generational dispossession that's a result of a combination of racist policies over the years and the effect that poverty and mass incarceration have. We're investing in neighborhoods that have been
historically disinvested in. We opened a small business resource center in an area that was not getting the kind of attention that it needed because we know that entrepreneurship will empower not just minority business owners, but minority employees.
Source: Meet the Press 2019 interview of 2020 presidential hopefuls
Apr 7, 2019
On Civil Rights:
Address racial divide by showing up & building trust
We worked hard on civil rights training, on implicit bias training. But also on getting our police officers to do foot patrols, to walk the neighborhoods. To show up not just when there's an emergency, but when there's a fun fair or a church event or a
block party. Whenever we've had a moment or an incident that has threatened to divide us racially in our city, we've made sure that we invest in the face time that it takes to reestablish trust.
Source: Meet the Press 2019 interview of 2020 presidential hopefuls
Apr 7, 2019
On Corporations:
Capitalism is good, but it must be subject to rules
America is a capitalist society. But it's got to be democratic capitalism. When you have capitalism capturing democracy, where powerful corporations are able to arrange the rules for their benefit, that's not real capitalism.
If you want to see what happens when you have capitalism without democracy, you can see it very clearly in Russia. It turns into crony capitalism. And that turns into oligarchy.
Source: Meet the Press 2019 interview of 2020 presidential hopefuls
Apr 7, 2019
On Gun Control:
Common sense gun control can work under Second Amendment
Q: Do you think the Second Amendment prevents gun control?A: We've already decided within the framework of the Second Amendment that we're going to draw a line somewhere, right? "Shall not be infringed" clearly doesn't mean that you're entitled
to a nuclear weapon. There are common sense limits that a thinking society can live by, while making sure that we honor the lifestyle of sporting and the idea that people should be equipped to defend themselves if they need to.
Source: Meet the Press 2019 interview of 2020 presidential hopefuls
Apr 7, 2019
On Immigration:
Problem isn't ICE; it's what they're ordered to do
We have worked very hard to be a welcoming city. People who are really important parts of our community are being torn apart from their families. This is not making us safer. When it comes to ICE, I don't care what the agency is called. I care what it
does. As long as you have an agency being ordered to tear families apart from one another or being ordered to make it harder to get on a path to citizenship, you're going to continue to have heartbreaking stories that are not helping anybody.
Source: Meet the Press 2019 interview of 2020 presidential hopefuls
Apr 7, 2019
Page last updated: Jan 12, 2020