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POLITICO

This story is published in a content partnership with POLITICO. It was originally reported by Daniel Strauss on politico.com on May 19, 2019.
South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg shrugged off insults US President Donald Trump has lobbed at him over Twitter and in a recent interview saying he just didn't care.
The comments by Buttigieg came Sunday evening during a live town hall event in New Hampshire hosted by Fox News' Chris Wallace on his network.
Earlier in the day the president tweeted that “Fox is moving more and more to the losing (wrong) side in covering the Dems. They got dumped from the Democrats boring debates, and they just want in.”

Hard to believe that @FoxNews is wasting airtime on Mayor Pete, as Chris Wallace likes to call him. Fox is moving more and more to the losing (wrong) side in covering the Dems. They got dumped from the Democrats boring debates, and they just want in. They forgot the people.....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 19, 2019


....who got them there. Chris Wallace said, “I actually think, whether you like his opinions or not, that Mayor Pete has a lot of substance...fascinating biography.” Gee, he never speaks well of me - I like Mike Wallace better...and Alfred E. Newman will never be President!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 19, 2019

But Buttigieg said that didn't get under his skin.
“The tweets are ... I don't care,” Buttigieg said, triggering applause from the audience at Stevens High School.
“It's a very effective way to command the attention of the media and I think that we need to make sure that we're changing the channel from this show that he's created. Because what matters -and I get it. look it's mesmerising and hard for anyone to look away. Me too. It is the nature of grotesque things that you can't look away.”
The comments and the loud applause came during one of the more lively exchanges in the wide-ranging event, which also featured biographical footage of the mayor from Indiana.
It also underscored the approach Buttigieg has taken in dealing with Trump and Fox News, an approach that contrasts with some other Democratic presidential candidates.
Pete Buttigieg trolls Donald Trump with Chinese proverb after president mocks him
By appearing on Fox News, Buttigieg – who’s quickly risen from almost complete unknown to one of the most prominent Democrats in the country – further introduced himself to an audience that might otherwise not know him.
Buttigieg is one of the few 2020 prominent Democratic presidential candidates to do a Fox News town hall so far, following in the footsteps of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar.

Others, most notably Senator Elizabeth Warren, have declined to participate in a town hall with the network, which has traditionally been unsympathetic to liberals. The Democratic National Committee has said it will not hold debates on Fox News.
A day before the town hall, Buttigieg sent out a fundraising email titled: “Why I'm going on Fox News” saying: “If we ignore the viewers of Fox News and every news platform that doesn’t share our world view, we will surrender our ability to speak directly to millions of American voters.”
Buttigieg, in responding to Wallace's question about Trump's tweet, generalised the scope of his response.
“Every time that we're looking at the show and the latest tweet and the latest insult, what we're not looking at is the fact that we're the ones trying to get you a raise and they're the ones blocking it,” Buttigieg said of Democrats working in opposition to the Trump administration.
The meteoric rise of Pete Buttigieg, who wants to be US president
“We're the ones trying to preserve your health care and they're the ones trying to take it away,” Buttigieg said.
“We are the ones who are actually prepared to deliver on something like paid family leave and they're against it. Their positions, as a general rule, are unpopular, and as we focus on what's going to happen in your life. In other words if we make it less about him or about you, paradoxically, I think that's actually the best way to defeat him.”
Buttigieg also criticised some of the more prominent hosts on the network.
“The other thing we've got to do is we've got to find people where they are. A lot of folks in my party were critical of me for even doing this. And I get where that's coming from – especially when you said what's going on with some of the opinion hosts on this network,” Buttigieg said.

“I mean you've got Tucker Carlson saying immigrants making America dirty ... you've got Laura Ingraham comparing detention centres with children in cages to summer camps. Summer. Camps. Then there is a reason why anybody has to swallow hard and think twice before participating in this media ecosystem.”
To someone who doesn't regularly watch Fox News, the setting might have been surprising. The audience was receptive to some of the most liberal lines Buttigieg offered and despite some crosstalk between the host and the South Bend mayor, the interactions were fairly cordial.
The discussion also touched on abortion, when Buttigieg was asked how he would protect reproductive rights as president.
That question came a few days after Alabama enacted a highly restrictive abortion law that top Republican Party leaders have said goes further in some respects than they would prefer.
Pete Buttigieg, a gay mayor from ‘rust belt’ America, launches 2020 US presidential bid
Buttigieg, in answering the abortion question, did not refrain from offering his support for abortion rights.
“Being a Democrat with pro-choice values who lives and governs in Indiana I get that there are lots of passionate views on this ... Even some of my supporters believe differently than I believe,” Buttigieg said.
“But that's what I believe and I believe that the next president needs to be ready to protect those rights. First of all, and the simplest thing, is appointing judges and justices who recognise that is part of American freedom. Another is to make sure that we're not starving America of resources – not just for that kind of reproductive care, abortion care.”
Trump himself, in an interview taped before the town hall on Fox News with Steve Hilton, was asked about Buttigieg running as an openly gay candidate. Trump said he didn't care about the mayor's sexuality but still snickered at pronouncing the South Bend mayor's name.
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/05/19/pete-buttigieg-trump-attacks-grotesque-things-1334093


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Democrat Pete Buttigieg finds friends on Fox as he calls out ‘grotesque’ Trump attacks

South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg is one of the few 2020 prominent Democratic presidential candidates to do a Fox News town hall so far. Photo: AFP

(FILES) In this file photo taken on May 16, 2019, US President Donald Trump gestures as he announces a new immigration proposal, in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, DC. - US President Donald Trump issued a stern warning to Iran on Sunday, May 19, 2019 suggesting that if the Islamic republic attacks American interests, it will be destroyed. "If Iran wants to fight, that will be the official end of Iran. Never threaten the United States again," Trump said in a tweet. Tensions between Washington and Tehran have been on the rise as the United States has deployed a carrier group and B-52 bombers to the Gulf over what it termed Iranian "threats." (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP)

(FILES) In this file photo taken on April 22, 2019, South Bend Mayor and Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg (L) speaks besides husband Chasten Glezman at the West Side Democratic Club during a Dyngus Day celebration event in South Bend, Indiana. - Buttigieg, the gay, liberal mayor of the small American city of South Bend, in the conservative bastion of Indiana, officially launched his presidential bid on April 14th, joining a crowded field of Democrats vying for their party's nomination in 2020. (Photo by KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI / AFP)

The meteoric rise of Pete Buttigieg, who wants to be US president

2020 Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg speaks at a campaign event in Des Moines, Iowa, U.S., April 16, 2019. REUTERS/Elijah Nouvelage

2020 Democratic presidential candidates are seen in a combination of file photos (L-R top row): U.S. Senators Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker, Amy Klobuchar, and Kirsten Gillibrand. (L-R middle row): Former Texas congressman Beto O'Rourke, U.S. Representatives Tulsi Gabbard, John Delaney, Eric Swalwell, Tim Ryan, and former HUD Secretary Julian Castro. (L-R bottom row): Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Former Gov. John Hickenlooper, Gov. Jay Inslee, Andrew Yang, Marianne Williamson, and Mayor Wayne Messam. REUTERS/Files

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - APRIL 08: Kavin Burkhalter of Nevada, a volunteer coordinator for South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg, holds a campaign sign explaining how to pronounce the mayor's last name as he waits for Buttigieg to arrive at a meet-and-greet at Madhouse Coffee on April 8, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Buttigieg recently launched an exploratory committee to run for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination and has seen a surge in the polls amid a crowded field of Democratic candidates. Ethan Miller/Getty Images/AFP == FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY ==

SOUTH BEND, INDIANA - APRIL 14: South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg announces that he will be seeking the Democratic nomination for president during a rally in the old Studebaker car factory on April 14, 2019 in South Bend, Indiana. Buttigieg has been drumming up support for his run during several recent campaign swings through Iowa, where he will be retuning to continue his campaign later this week. Scott Olson/Getty Images/AFP == FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY ==

(FILES) In this file photo taken on April 14, 2019 South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg (R) acknowledges attendees with his husband Chasten Buttigieg after announcing his presidential candidacy for 2020 during an event on Sunday in South Bend, Indiana. - After his meteoric rise in the race to be the Democratic nominee for president, Pete Buttigieg on April 17, 2019, was confronted with -- and brushed aside -- the first public heckling over his homosexuality. The 37-year-old mayor of South Bend, Indiana is the first openly gay candidate for the White House. A practicing Christian, he married his husband at an Episcopal church in his hometown. (Photo by JOSHUA LOTT / AFP)

Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg shakes hands with an employee during a campaign stop. Photo: AP

Pete Buttigieg trolls Donald Trump with Chinese proverb after president mocks him

Democratic presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg at a campaign event in West Hollywood. Photo: AP

U.S. President Donald Trump, center, gestures while arriving to welcome the 2018 Major League Baseball (MLB) World Series Champion Boston Red Sox to the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S. on Thursday, May 9, 2019. The Boston Red Sox visited the White House on Thursday to celebrate last year's World Series victory and take a photo with President Donald Trump -- but prominent players of color rejected the invitation, leaving the team's delegation almost entirely white. Photographer: Joshua Roberts/Bloomberg

U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Mayor Pete Buttigieg campaigns with Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti in Los Angeles, California, U.S., May 9, 2019. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson

Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg addresses supporters at a campaign event Thursday, May 9, 2019, in West Hollywood, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Pete Buttigieg, a gay mayor from ‘rust belt’ America, launches 2020 US presidential bid

US 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg speaks at the 2019 National Action Network National Convention in New York. Photo: Reuters

FILE - In this Feb. 16, 2019, file photo, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, of South Bend, Ind., smiles as he listens to a question during a stop in Raymond, N.H. Buttigieg is expected to make his Democratic run for president official during a rally later Sunday, April 14, in the city where he launched his political career less than a decade ago. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)

Attendees wait to see South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg before announcing his Democratic US presidential candidacy for 2020 during an event on April 14, 2019 in South Bend, Indiana. - Pete Buttigieg, the gay, liberal mayor of a small American city in the conservative bastion of Indiana, officially launches his presidential bid Sunday, joining a crowded field of Democrats vying for their party's nomination in 2020. The 37-year-old Rhodes scholar and Afghanistan war veteran is the two-term mayor of his hometown of South Bend -- a left-leaning bubble in America's so-called "Rust Belt" region, where the decline of industries such as steel and automobile manufacturing has hurt local economies. (Photo by JOSHUA LOTT / AFP)

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His remarks, at a Fox News town hall, emphasised his unorthodox approach to the 2020 campaign



His remarks, at a Fox News town hall, emphasised his unorthodox approach to the 2020 campaign.


US presidential election 2020

Donald Trump

.css-sioo19{color:#c79a00;}Politico | Democrat Pete Buttigieg finds friends on Fox as he calls out ‘grotesque’ Trump attacks

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;} His remarks, at a Fox News town hall, emphasised his unorthodox approach to the 2020 campaign

Politico | Democrat Pete Buttigieg finds friends on Fox as he calls out ‘grotesque’ Trump attacks

His remarks, at a Fox News town hall, emphasised his unorthodox approach to the 2020 campaign