Pete Buttigieg’s record as mayor of South Bend has come under scrutiny during the campaign, and today Chuck Todd asked him about the “questionable things on your record, particularly on dealings with the African-American community.”
Buttigieg pointed to the support he’s received from African-Americans in the community. Todd said, “It’s not everybody. There’s a member of the city council in South Bend who’s not just not backing you but calling into question your leadership in the African-American community.”
“Most black elected officials who are involved in this campaign at all are supporting me,” Buttigieg said in response, “and it’s not because it’s been perfect. This is my point. We actually have to deal with these issues on the ground, from racial justice in policing to economic empowerment… I will stack up my record against anybody else who is running for president, all of whom are implicated in the realities that our country faces, especially when it comes to racial and economic inequality.”
Todd more directly asked, “When did you see these inequities in the African-American community and how quickly did you address them? I think about during your tenure when Ferguson happened… Many mayors said we’ve got to look at our policing practices, make sure our police departments look like the community that they’re policing. The evidence in South Bend is questionable whether
“Why do you think that we implemented implicit bias training? Why do you think that we led the region in transparency in reporting cases of the use of force, seeing what had happened in Ferguson?” Buttigieg responded. “Why do you think I appointed an African-American majority on the civilian board overseeing our police department? And you know what? In terms of results, use of force incidents went down.”
When Todd asked if there are any mistakes he would admit to, Buttigieg pointed to his controversial firing of South Bend’s police chief.
You can watch above, via NBC.