South Bend Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg responded forcefully to a racist question that was posed to him Thursday during a July 4th campaign event in Iowa.
“I have a solution for you, and I’d like you to make a comment on my proposal. The man said. Just tell the black people of South Bend to stop committing crime and doing drugs.”
The comment was met by boos and jeers at Buttigieg’s campaign event. The 2020 Democratic presidential candidate responded by chiding the man for his “racism,” saying it wouldn’t help solve problems. (RELATED: Pete Buttigieg Accuses Republicans Of ‘Hypocrisy’ On Religion)
Mayor @PeteButtigieg is in Iowa today and got this comment/question from a voter:
“I have a solution for you, and I’d like you to make a comment on my proposal. Just tell the black people of South Bend to stop committing crime and doing drugs.”
His response: pic.twitter.com/62NmiDISXR
— Yashar Ali ???? (@yashar) July 4, 2019
“The fact that a black person is four times as likely as a white person to be incarcerated for the exact same crime is evidence of systemic racism,” Buttigieg said. “Racism makes it harder for good police officers to do their job too.”
The 37-year-old Buttigieg is considered a rising star in the Democratic party, and has emerged as a contender for its presidential nomination. However, Buttigieg has faced significant criticism over his handling of a police shooting that took place in South Bend last month. An officer shot and killed Eric Logan, a black American who was allegedly carrying a knife when he was shot and killed by the police officer.
The South Bend Fraternal Order of Police criticized the mayor for comments he made at a town hall shortly after the incident, and Black Lives Matter protesters also confronted and chided Buttigieg over the incident, which is still under investigation.