Democratic 2020 presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg told CNN’s Alisyn Camerota on Thursday that people who eat burgers and use plastic straws are part of the problem, ‘in a way.’
Buttigieg, who took part in CNN’s lengthy climate change town hall event on Wednesday, joined “New Day” on Thursday morning to discuss some of the topics that had been addressed.
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Camerota began the segment by talking about the climate crisis and how it has made her so nervous that she has stopped using plastic straws in an effort to do her part to save the oceans.
“I think it makes a lot of people feel very helpless because, yes, we can all do away with our plastic straws and I haven’t drank out of a straw for the past six months because I’m so worried about what’s happening in the ocean,” Camerota explained. “But people feel helpless when it’s that existential.”
And Camerota was not alone — Democratic California Sen. Kamala Harris, who also participated in Wednesday’s town hall, practically apologized for liking cheeseburgers.
Watch: Kamala Harris and CNN apologize for liking cheeseburgers and Harris explain how we have to nudge the uneducated masses away from red meat pic.twitter.com/4dNJ7FKiKD
— Elizabeth Harrington (@LizRNC) September 5, 2019
“That’s one of the things, the downside to facing just how colossal of a challenge of this is, is it can feel paralyzing but we can rise to meet this. That’s what my climate plan is all about,” Buttigieg responded. “It’s not just about all the things we can do technologically and so on, but summoning the energies of this country to do something unbelievably hard.”
Buttigieg went on to invoke World War II and the Great Depression, saying that America has traditionally risen to the challenges that face the nation. “Right now we’re in a mode I think we’re thinking about it mostly through the perspective of guilt. Using a straw, eating a burger am I part of the problem? Yes, but we could all be part of the solution,” he added. (RELATED: Pete Buttigieg: Combatting Climate Change May Be ‘More Challenging Than’ Winning WWII)
“And this is something that will require the public and private and social sectors to unite and rally. And then instead of being built on guilt, it could be pride,” Buttigieg concluded.