Pete Buttigieg made a clear argument that people who vote for Trump are looking the other way on racism.
Pete Buttigieg: A Vote For Trump Is Looking The Other Way On Racism
Video:
.@jaketapper: “Do you think that it’s a racist act to cast a vote for President Trump in 2020?”
Presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg: “At best it means looking the other way on racism.” #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/YtqTPvhayX
— State of the Union (@CNNSotu) August 18, 2019
Transcript via CNN State Of The Union:
TAPPER: You told me on the show two weeks ago that you believe President Trump is a white nationalist.
Given that, do you think that it’s a racist act to cast a vote for President Trump in 2020?
BUTTIGIEG: Well, at best, it means looking the other way on racism.
But I think a lot of people are wondering what kind of deal even that is supposed to be.
You know you look at what he said in that rally, “You have got no choice but to vote for me.”
And if you look at the numbers, basically, what he’s saying is, all right, I want you to look the other way on the racism, tolerate the negativity, accept the instability of my administration, because I am going to deliver for you job growth almost as good as the Obama years.
That’s what his argument amounts to right now. And it’s part of the reason why he’s unpopular.
The argument that Buttigieg made is the one that keeps Republican strategists awake at night. Trump has no chance of winning votes outside of his base of support if a vote for Trump means a vote for turning a blind eye to racism.
Buttigieg didn’t call Trump supporters racists. He attached a meaning to a vote for Trump and by extension the Republican Party that Republicans don’t want to have in the minds of voters. Trump’s supporters are going to stick with him no matter what, but it is suburban Republicans in swing and red states that Republicans have to have who are going to be swayed by the argument that voting for Trump equals a vote to enable racism.
A vote for Trump is giving the country four more years of racism is the last thing that Republicans want voters to think as they cast their ballots in 2020.
For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.
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Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
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