Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was not in a mood to be baited by Fox News anchorman Mike Emanuel yesterday. Appearing on Fox News Sunday, Buttigieg was asked about a tweet that his husband, Chasten, posted regarding Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
At the end of last week, it emerged that Kavanaugh felt compelled to leave a restaurant in DC via its back door when protestors turned up and asked management to kick him out.
Related: Brett Kavanaugh forced to skip dessert, flee out the backdoor of steakhouse to avoid protesters
Chasten tweeted the story, saying, “Sounds like he just wanted some privacy to make his own dining decisions.” This was a shot at Kavanaugh’s role in voting to revoke the Roe vs. Wade ruling on abortion, thus removing the right of many women to make their own reproductive health decisions.
Emanuel highlighted Chasten’s words and asked Pete if he thought the tweet was “appropriate.”
Watch below what happened. Buttigieg gave an eloquent, unflustered, level-headed response as to why it was appropriate, why people are upset with the Supreme Court, and why peaceful protest is a right of every citizen.
If you’re going to go on Fox, this is how you do it.pic.twitter.com/1HpakCVmUH
— Brian Tyler Cohen (@briantylercohen) July 10, 2022
Emanuel tries several times to get a word in edgeways, but Buttigieg continues with his answer.
“Look, when public officials go into public life, we should expect two things,” he says. “One, you should always be free from violence, harassment, and intimidation. And two, you’re never going to be free from criticism or peaceful protests, people exercising their First Amendment rights. That’s what happened in this case.”
Buttigieg goes on to point out that Justice Kavanaugh “swore up and down in front of God and everyone, including the United States Congress, that they were going to leave settled case law alone. So yes, people are upset. They’re going to exercise their First Amendment rights. And as long as that’s peaceful, that’s protected.”
Related: Chasten slams Boebert for criticizing Pete Buttigieg’s parenting
When Emanuel finally manages to get a word in, he asks Buttigieg, “Are you comfortable with protesters protesting when you and your husband go to dinner at a restaurant?”
Buttigieg replies, “Protesting peacefully outside in a public space? Sure. Look, I can’t even tell you the number of spaces, venues, and scenarios where I’ve been protested. And the bottom line is this: any public figure should always always be free from violence, intimidation and harassment, but should never be free from criticism, or people exercising their First Amendment rights.”
You can watch the whole interview below. Buttigieg’s comment about Chasten’s tweet begins at the 7.05 mark.
daveku
Note; I dont like mayor pete as a policitian. He maybe nice as a person, but he is over his head. Playing devils advocate, name one, 1, democrat lawmaker that was forced to leave a restaurant because of protesting. remember, he was not the only obe there. Their were perfectly innocent patrons who had their meals disrupted. If you re-watch the the senate hearing no where did Kavanaugh, or the others, sware “up and down in front of God and everyone, including the United States Congress, that they were going to leave settled case law alone”. And finally… it was not overturned, it was returned to the states and congress to decide.
dario717
Do you not like politicians who make sense? Does he use big words? Perhaps no Democrats get protested out of the public because Democrats don’t enter every policy discussion deciding how they can be as cruel as possible.
LumpyPillows
Huh? Pete is probably the smartest man in the cabinet. As far as being over his head, I think you’re over your head when it comes to grammar. And, yes, they did lie about overturning accepted case law.
Fname Optional Lname
and LOL dario717
MystiRivers
Roe v Wade was literally overturned (or nullified); the immediate impact of which was to revert to the pre-Roe status quo where the legality and regulation of abortion was left up to the states.
Mario
Harvard/Harris poll (07/10/2022):
“If the election were held today, for whom would you vote for president?”
Ron DeSantis: 58%
Pete Buttigieg: 32%
This dude is just not ready for prime time, or the American voters just don’t care for him.
Chrisk
Jeez Dave maybe if they didn’t build a wall around them people could protest at their place of work instead? They knew and expected this to happen.
Sorry that you feel eating overpriced grub in peace is worth more then peoples rights over their own bodies.
Chrisk
Mario
No troll. Pete is incredibly popular. Even conservatives respect him.
ingyaom
Mario – Thanks for the stats – I think it’s amazing that a gay man went from being the mayor of South Bend, IN to getting 32% in a poll for president.
mikeTigg
Hey Mario, if your stats are correct then it only proves one thing that most of the world outside of the US is aware of, and that is that 58% of Americans are dumber than a sack of K-47s and are allowing their country circle the toilet drain.
gjg64
Note; I’ll listen to what you have to say when you learn to spell and use grammar.
stonercharles
bless your heart…
brian6767
@LumpyPillows
“Pete is probably the smartest man in the cabinet”…The supply chain delays fall on the Secretary of Transportation’s shoulders, and Buttigieg has failed miserably! So if he’s the smartest man in that cabinet, (and with the dribble glass running this country into the ground), that’s not a high bar to jump over!
Den
This might be true if supply chain issues were not a world wide issue resulting from a complex web of causes. But of course comp0lex issues do not exist in the right wing mind, nor does a memory that extends further back than the last Trumpist pronouncement on what to think and believe.
Your contention might make sense if supply chain issues were related to infrastructure or interstate commerce. But they were/are not. And here is a clue for future reference, if either MTG or Ms Bobbert have a “theory” about something, it is overwhelmingly likely to be false.
tameron1
You must be one of those freaky, self-loathing Log Cabin Republicans? Yuck!
Martin
They stated they were going to leave the settled case alone, or something to that affect. Do you really see any value in splitting hairs? It’s telling when someone ‘doesn’t like’ a person, especially when that person is extremely well spoken and very intelligent!!!
glennmcbride
Buttigieg is very well spoken and he makes his point. You on the other hand, should take a remedial class in grammar, spelling and punctuation. It would help make your answer readable.
Mack
Just another troll using multiple screen names, probably Mario with his BS/
bobbyw
Such a play on words. If these politicians weren’t so hell bent on taking away freedoms, they wouldn’t be harassed. He swore, yes swore, to Congress that he had no intentions of dealing with standing precedents.
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, suggested on Friday in the wake of the Supreme Court’s move to strike down Roe v. Wade that Justices Gorsuch and Kavanaugh misled her on the abortion issue in testimony and in private meetings.
“This decision is inconsistent with what Justices Gorsuch and Kavanaugh said in their testimony and their meetings with me, where they both were insistent on the importance of supporting long-standing precedents that the country has relied upon,” Collins said in a statement shortly after the court struck down Roe v. Wade by a 5-4 vote.
Collins added that the court “abandoned a fifty-year precedent” at a time the country is “desperate for stability.”
LumpyPillows
Brian, you really have no idea how government, industry or the world works. You are adept at being mean-spirited.
MystiRivers
Let protestors congregate outside Pete and Chasten’s home and follow them around to restaurants and see how he likes it.
LumpyPillows
I do agree people should not be stalking anyone on either side.
ZzBomb
You clearly didn’t fully read or comprehend the article.
MystiRivers
Yes, I actually did. Try again.
still_onthemark
You missed the part where Pete said peaceful protests like that are perfectly appropriate, they’ve already happened to him & Chasten, and they don’t mind it. Because Pete is not a whiny SNOWFLAKE like Kavanaugh is!
DarkZephyr
If you read the article or watched the clip, you will see that he has stated that people have protested him and his husband. As has been pointed elsewhere, this doesn’t tend to happen as often or as extremely with Democrats as it does with Republicans because Democrats don’t tend to make official legislative decisions that have such strong and negative impacts on people’s personal freedoms and agency.
Chrisk
If Pete and Chasten removed peoples civil rights for no good reason I’d be the first to protest at their homes.
MystiRivers
I guess we’ve certainly come a long way from a couple of years ago when the radical left was pillorying Mayor Pete as a privileged white heteronormative elitist. Now they defend him when he says it’s A-OK to stalk and harass public political figures.
Den
Yes, some people did criticize him for mistakes he ahd made as mayor, most often his treatment of the Chief of Police. But “heteronormative behavior”? Hetero Boy, get a clue. AND learn to read. He HAS been harassed by gay haters like you (at best you are self hating, but you are most likely a breeder with issues about “the gays”), and specifically opposed stalking and harassment.
Why is it that right wingers like you simply have no idea how to think or reason?
Eternal.Cowboy
Tell us you didn’t watch the video without telling us you didn’t watch the video.
I swear Republicans are worse at trolling than they are at running the government.
Patrick
Read it again & again until what Sec. Pete actually said sinks into your lying, diseased, right wing extremist brain.
Mister P
If you watched the clip, you would know that Secretary Pete has had more than his fair share of protests and trolls just for who he is.
We are lucky to have someone so qualified in service to us.
Mario
You are joking, right?
Chrisk
Exactly. Biden was smart to make him part of his cabinet.
Martin
Well said! Thank you.
Fname Optional Lname
” And finally… it was not overturned, it was returned to the states and congress to decide.”
so it was overturned
LumpyPillows
Exactly.
Rambeaux
Bottom line:
Fox News is not interested in anything that Buttigieg has to say about anything.
All that they are looking for is a “gotcha” moment.
Don’t know why he wastes his time being interviewed on that Network.
fredk3
i agree. erasurehead look-alike reporter was in way over his (large) head!
Den
He “wastes his time with them” because he knows he can think rings around them and possibly change a benighted mind or two. They sling bull and he speaks truth (cue “Mario” to come make a fool of himself yet again).
surfnspy
It’s great to have him on Fox. He’s one of the few democrats who is not afraid to go on because he’s smart enough to believe he can talk to any issue intelligently. It’s basically impossible to “Gotcha” him because he’s just too smart. We are lucky to have him, imho, as he could probably make a lot more money working for a private company.
abfab
You call that stalking? The right wing moron republicans stalked the Dems on Jan 6, and the entire country. So, Miss Lumpy and Mario POS lover, and misty water color memories, your grasp on things has come to its full and tired conclusion.
LMG
daveku can’t even spell “swear” correctly much less absorb what Kavanaugh and the others swore to. Look up the word “precedent” or “precedence” which the three Lard Ass appointees kept mentioning. But don’t cry for Kavanaugh. He went elsewhere and had a beer. The FOX a-hole wasn’t able to get a word in after his stupid comment. So be it for all FOX Noise makers.
LMG
If Mario was running for anything here are the probable results:
Mario – .01 %
Anyone else – 99.99%
[email protected]
I’m still shocked that we are not more supportive as a population. We should be over the moon with Pete and his husband. What he has accomplished is amazing in this time. I remember when you didn’t let people know you were gay. Now look at mayor Pete, shaming someone who didn’t realize he was being shamed. And on Fox News of all places.
I for one say You go Pete!!! I’m proud of Him and his representation of us.
surfnspy
The problem seems to be that we need all politicians to be everything to us. Like the perfect match on a dating site–there can’t be one problematic issue. Secretary Pete can actually answer questions intelligently, honestly, and in terms that are relatable. He’s so smart, but he’s not “queer” enough for some, he’s way too gay for the right. He’s not a socialist like Bernie, he’s religious, he’s married which is too straight aspirational for some. He’s not close to the black community for some. But he’s a national figure and he’s gay and he’s on our side. Why we aren’t excited and supportive says more about us as a fractured community than anything about him. And I don’t just mean the gay “community”, I mean democrats as a whole. We are making it impossible to win. It’s such a shame because president DeSantis is coming and we are going to wake up the day after it happens and wonder, how did we lose everything?
Den
I think most LGBT people feel the same way. Don’t forget, despite being loud, crude and abrasive, the regressives like “Mario” and his ilk are a minority here and in the general population.
They make a lot of noise because they are not capable of anything more substantive or constructive.
xanadude
I would have voted for him over Biden in a heartbeat.
Ken A.
You don’t protest at people’s homes. You protest at public venues. The right to protest doesn’t include private residences. A restaurant is a private establishment open to the public. It was wrong of the protesters to haras Kavanaugh there. As to Pete, he would’ve made a great president. I love how he doesn’t take the bait on the Fox Channel.
Kangol2
The right to protest DOES include protesting at people’s homes. You just made up a constraint off the top of your head. Have you read the US Constitution? Do you even know what’s in it or are you just pulling crap out of your tuches because you think it sounds good?
Do you realize that anti-abortion fanatics have not only protested at abortion doctors’ homes, but have actually shot them dead? Have people, including the media, forgotten this long, hideous history? Anti-abortion fanatics have engaged in harassing, violent behavior for decades, and it ain’t “peaceable assembly.”
Chrisk
Umm…These justices have insulated themselves off from protests in public venues. Large fences that you need binoculars just to see the goings about at the court.
They brought this on themselves.
LegionKeign
People’s rights are being systematically stripped away and some of you are upset because dinners were disrupted?!?
You deserve the fresh hell the christo-fascists are getting ready to throw your way.
In the meantime, I’ll be protesting with the rest of the folks (where ever and whenever) trying to keep Woman’s rights, Gay Marriage, Voting Rights, etc…
bobbyw
Republicans are the party of no ideas on how to get the country on track. COVID deniers, do nothing about COVID, spread lies and wild conspiracy theories. What plans have they come up with to correct the so-called failings of Biden or the Democrats? Nothing. Just blame everything on them with no supportive evidence. Yet, you continue to believe Trump and the other racists who have lied and conned you from the very beginning. Now that the truth is coming out, you can’t handle the fact that you were dupped, and I mean dupped bad. Face up to the fact that you were conned and move on and do what you can to help instead of tearing down. We will never move ahead if you all keep your heads buried in the sand about what has and is really happening in this country. As for Pete, he has more intelligence in his pinky than most have in their entire body. As Republicans, you’re afraid of intelligence because you can’t fool the smart ones. That’s why Trump and Republicans want to do away with free thought, free press, etc. Want us to be like Russia.
Mario
Ron DeSantis will make a very smart president, probably the smartest.
DeSantis earned a score of 1600 on his SATs (which is a perfect score by the way) – and NO Democrat in office ever scored a 1600, not even Mayor Buttplug. And DeSantis graduated with honors from both Harvard and Yale.
DeSantis will be a GREAT president!!!
Den
Spoken like the hetero scumbag you are. He will make a great president for easily maniupulated science hating christians who wish to see women once again chattel, and gay folks back in the closet and re criminalized. That is obviously your hope, creep.
Mario
Sorry, Den.
I’m a politically conservative gay man. I know you don’t like the fact that we exist, but we do. And we aren’t fans of Mayor Buttplug.
And due to the economic mess Biden and the Democrats got this country into, I predict that a lot more gay people will be voting Republican in both 2022 and 2024.
When a gay person – like every other person – can’t pay rent or put food on the table or buy gas, the issues you hawk are unimportant.
Den
Please, we are all tired of your lies. And they are lies. If, by some remote chance you actually are gay, than you are more of an idiot than I think you are. I have Gay conservative friends, asshole, and they are capable of a level of intellect you will never reach. They know who hates them and who has our back. You, as a straight man clearly do not care. Your lies about who you are do not change what is obvious.
It is interesting that you are so stupid that you believe the results (economic and otherwise) of Trump’s mishandling of the pandemic, and worldwide issues related to it suddenly materialized in the months since Biden’s election. It is also interesting how right wing dullards like you never understand that there is an entire world outside the boundaries of the US and our fates are entwined. Is that too complex for your slow little synapses? Sure seems to be.
Generally 25% or less of the LGBT population vote republicam, and fewer voted for Trump. We know that DeSantis, should he run, would be disastrous for us, and a boon for scum like you, so expect only the least astute of Gay folks to vote for him. There will be those who (like certain of my Jewish ancestors in Germany) feel that their wiealth willl protect them from the erosion of our equal protection under the law. But they will see soon enough how foolish they are.
As for putting food on the table, paying rent or buying gas, are you actually even stupider than I though to feel that the Republican party cares about that at all? The Oil companies, Corporate landlords and Agribusiness are making record profits. That is ALL the Republican party cares about. You think they care about peoiple in need? DAMN YOU ARE AN IDIOT!
Go away straight boy! You’re just making a fool of yourself! Nobody wants you here. You havenothing of substance to add, ever.
Den
People like you are like Kristi Noem, so dull and morally confused that they want to see a 10 year old rape victim forced to carry a pregnancy to term despite the threat to her life, health and future. You would not know what constitutes reasonable ethics if your life depended on it…which is how most of you hetero right wingers are.
There is nothing I would not do to keep people like you from recriminalizing homosexuality or destroying democracy as it is clear the right intends to do.
Mario
Den:
Biden’s 29% approval ratings (Civiqs poll) prove that the voters do blame him for America’s miseries, and even 64% of registered Democrats (New York Times poll) want to kick him aside in 2024.
I don’t believe that you have even one gay conservative friend; you’re too closed-minded. Plus: I don’t believe you’re Jewish because REAL Jews do not disparage their grandparents and great grandparents who were killed in the Holocaust.
Due to the economic, crime, and immigration messes Biden and the Democrats got this country into, I predict that a lot more gay people will be voting Republican in both 2022 and 2024.
By the way, I can accept abortion in the cases of rape, incest, or when the mother’s life is in danger – and so do most conservatives. But, they only account for 3% of all abortions according to the Planned Parenthood’s Guttmacher Institute. I suppose that you and the left believe abortion should be readily available for women right up until the baby’s born. Boy, are you out of step with most Americans on that issue! You can’t even say the word woman. I heard you woke cranks can only say “birthing person.”
When a person – gay or straight – can’t pay rent or put food on the table or buy gas, the issues you hawk are unimportant.
Patrick
And Sec. Pete was a Rhodes Scholar. Clean up your filthy mouth Mario, stop with your right wing extremist lies & enlighten your brain. Actually, that last request is probably beyond your comprehension.
Den
He is a typical right wing heterosexual troll, with nothing to contribute, even among his own kind. You just know how sad his life is with no friends or loved one, and how devoid of ethics or refinement he is.
He is unlikely to even know what a Rhodes Scholar is!
Mario
Patty:
But still, Mayor Buttplug did NOT get a 1600 on his SATs, so he clearly is not as smart as Ron DeSantis.
Den
It takes a stupid person to believe that a standardized test is the most accurate or best way to assess the intelligence of an individual. But of course the right thrives among the dull, so they encourage intellectual laziness and is most attractive to those with the least developed critical thinking skills.
And though it would not occur to someone like Mario, ethics are important in politics as well as intellect. DeSantis is not exceptional in either quality.
johncp56
Spot on, and people you all know gay shade is reallllll! shade
Archbishop763
If DeSatan was so intelligent, why does he deny COVID? Why does he only help the 1% and screws everyone else? If he ever becomes President, he will make the Nazis look like pansies!!!
seven5tx
Anything Pete Buttigieg says brings tears to my eyes. He is intelligent and articulate in a way that we just don’t see anymore.
The conservatives are on a calculated course to ensure that there is an uneducated possibly oxy addicted underclass.
Stop blaming the supply chain issues on Buttigieg. Greg Abbott was holding up trucks from Mexico that caused food to rot. Place the blame where it belongs.