Mayor Pete Rips Klobuchar For Confirming Trump Chief Who Oversaw ‘Horrifying Conditions That Children Were Kept In’
Former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg took a shot at Amy Klobuchar for her vote to confirm Trump border chief Kevin McAleenan, who “presided over the horrifying conditions that children were kept in,” and then highlighted the attack in a campaign memo.
The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) hosted a Democratic town hall at the College of Southern Nevada in North Las Vegas Thursday, ahead of the upcoming Nevada caucuses. In a potentially telling illustration of the state of play in this contest, Mayor Pete’s campaign sent a memo to the press with selected from the event that highlighted two attacks on rival candidates.
The first was a shot at Klobuchar, tacked on to an answer to a question from moderator David Cruz, who asked Buttigieg if he “would close the detention centers here in the United States?”
Buttigieg said that “there will always be some kinds of facilities for people coming through,” but that has to happen is for us to take this out of the authority of Customs and Border Protection and make sure that Health and Human Services — responsible for caretaking — is in the lead.”
“And by the way, when it comes to Customs and Border Protection, we’ve got to look seriously at what’s gone on with the leadership there,” Buttigieg said, then added “You know, I’ve heard some people say that, you know, my experience is not relevant because you have to have Washington experience in order to become a president. But some of those same voices are among those who voted to confirm Kevin McAleenan as the CBP head who presided over, for example, the horrifying conditions that children were kept in, and we have to look at what kind of judgment that experience has brought.”
Klobuchar did vote to confirm McAleenan, while Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders — as well as every other Democratic senator who ran for president this year save Michael Bennet of Colorado — voted against McAleenan.
The campaign also highlighted a series of attacks on Independent Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders revolving around the dustup between the Culinary Workers union, the Sanders campaign, and Sanders supporters who have harassed the union for speaking out against Sanders’ “Medicare for All” healthcare plan.
Moderator Leticia Castro said to Buttigieg “You said Senator Sanders’ healthcare proposal would cause a division in the country, but that yours wouldn’t,” and asked “What makes yours better?”
Mayor Pete said “I respect Senator Sanders, but this is a really important difference of opinion,” and outlined his plan for maintaining the choice to keep private insurance, saying “I’m thinking, for example, of the culinary workers here in Nevada who fought so hard, those strikes, and those negotiations to get excellent healthcare plans. Who are we to tell them that they have to give up those plans? And I was especially upset to see that union leadership was being attacked for standing up for their workers.”
He went on to add that healthcare “is just one example of an issue where we have this ‘my way or the highway’ politics that suggests to people that, you know, if you’re not with me, you must be against me. If you’re not for the revolution, you must be for the status quo.”
It’s worth noting that while the attacks on Sanders occurred earliest in the program, it was the Klobuchar line that the campaign highlighted first in their memo, which could indicate the perceived threat level of each candidate. Klobuchar has momentum coming out of New Hampshire, and recently received a joint endorsement — along with former Vice President Joe Biden — from the Las Vegas Sun, while the ugly feud with the union has knocked Sanders back on his heels in a state where he was polling strongly.
Watch the full Q&A above via KTNV.
