Lawrence O’Donnell Hammers Buttigieg Claim on Deficit: He ‘Literally Doesn’t Know What He’s Talking About’

MSNBC host Lawrence O’Donnell absolutely torched South Bend, IN Mayor Pete Buttigieg for saying that Democrats are unconcerned with the national debt.

In a scathing, show-ending monologue on The Last Word Thursday night, O’Donnell blasted Buttigieg for comments he made at a forum in New Hampshire earlier in the day.

“Twice he criticized Democrats about the deficit saying Democrats are, quote, ‘not known for worrying about deficits.’ And he said, ‘if my party doesn’t start getting interested in deficits,'” O’Donnell said. “Both of those lines are lies. They are Republican lies that, for some reason, Pete Buttigieg decided to tell today.”

O’Donnell particularly took umbrage with the idea of Buttigieg lobbing his criticisms without recognizing politically difficult deficit-conscious votes cast in the senate by several of his 2020 rivals including; Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, and Amy Klobuchar.

“Two current presidential candidates voted for that deficit reduction,” O’Donnell said — referring to an Obama-era measure. “Bernie Sanders voted for it. Amy Klobuchar voted for it — because she was worried about the deficit. And she stands on that debate stage beside Pete Buttigieg who has never done one thing in his life about the federal budget deficit, or the national debt. Not one thing. And he blithely criticized Democrats today who have made tough political choices to control the deficit.”

The MSNBC host added this stinging barb: “Pete Buttigieg literally doesn’t know what he’s talking about when he talks about Democrats and the deficit. Or he’s deliberately lying. And I’m sorry, but those are the only choices.”

Watch above, via MSNBC.