MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace claimed Thursday that Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg is a “skilled” messenger for the Biden administration.
Wallace made the comments during an appearance by Buttigieg on “Deadline: White House,” where the transportation secretary claimed the Biden administration was “taking care of the basics.” Buttigieg has come under fire over his response to a series of crises during his tenure as secretary of Transportation. (RELATED: ‘It All Happened So Quickly’: DCNF Reporter Recounts Confrontation With Buttigieg Over Ohio Train Disaster)
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“You, from the beginning of sort of the national turn of your career, have been I think one of the most skilled messengers in the belly of the beast,” Wallace told Buttigieg. “I’ve watched all of your appearances on Fox News and I wonder if you think that’s where this message of, hey, guys, you may not agree with all of the points of the Biden policy agenda, but we are too close to be on the edge of something from which we may not recover.”
In January, the Federal Aviation Administration had to ground over 10,000 flights due to a computer glitch, the largest grounding since the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Buttigieg was criticized for his slow response to the crisis.
In February, Buttigieg also delayed discussing the situation in East Palestine, Ohio, after a train derailment caused toxic chemicals to spill, taking ten days to post a thread on Twitter. Buttigieg also received criticism for taking paternity leave during a supply chain crisis in late 2021.
Buttigieg took a photo of Daily Caller News Foundation investigative reporter Jennie Taer when she confronted him over failing to visit East Palestine in late February, drawing backlash on social media. Buttigieg later shared the photo of Taer with his staff, saying he had been “thrown off balance” and wanted to have his own record of the encounter.
He also launched a $1 billion initiative in June 2022 to address “racist” roads.
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