Pete Buttigieg was recently confronted by angry protestors in his home town of South Bend, Indiana, after police fatally shot a black man, Eric Logan, last weekend. As The Inquisitr previously reported, Buttigieg was forced to leave the campaign trail and address the black community, whom he says “are concerned with whether they can trust the police.”
Buttigieg was confronted by family members and friends of Logan, as well as members of the community speaking out against police brutality. One protester even asked Buttigieg if he actually cared about the black community or if he returned to South Bend because he wants to be president.
On the heels of this encounter, Democratic presidential candidate Mike Gravel recently took to Twitter to criticize Buttigieg’s lackluster record as mayor and suggested a reason for why he appears to face media pushback rarely.
“The media has given Buttigieg a pass on a lackluster record in South Bend that shows him to be more concerned about public acclaim than the lives of average people. Why the pass? Because he’s an articulate white kid with all the right credentials. His constituents know the truth.”
Gravel made the comment while linking to footage of Buttigieg’s confrontation and his comment that he is “not asking for” the black vote? — which he made when confronted by protestors.
Pete Buttigieg faces South Bend protesters: “You want black people to vote for you — that’s not going to happen” https://t.co/qSFkExuMhO pic.twitter.com/tS6JdyVMKm
— CBS News (@CBSNews) June 22, 2019
It’s not the first time Gravel has criticized Buttigieg. As The Inquisitr previously reported, the 89-year-old former Alaskan Senator slammed Buttigieg for claiming that he would not reverse President Donald Trump’s decision to move the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem after Trump recognized the ancient holy city as Israel’s capital.
“The appeal of Buttigieg and other centrists: a slightly kinder face on the same policies that have been condoning Israeli aggression and apartheid for decades,” Gravel said.
Although Buttigieg admitted that he didn’t believe Trump “did the right thing,” he nevertheless claims that he would not reverse his decision.
Mayor Pete Buttigieg: “I do not have evidence that there has been discipline for racist behavior…”
Protester: “You running for president and you expect black people to vote for you?”
Buttigieg: “I’m not asking for your vote.”
Protester: “You ain’t gonna get it either.” pic.twitter.com/tK1Ys0Yvfc
— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) June 22, 2019
Buttigieg did, however, criticize Trump’s recognition of Golan Heights. The 37-year-old suggested that the honor could have waited and been used as part of a negotiation package. But Buttigieg claims that Trump likely recognized Golan Heights as a means of influencing Israeli domestic politics, which he said should be the “last reason” the U.S. uses to back its foreign policy.
In addition to Buttigieg, Gravel has also criticized presidential candidate Joe Biden, whom he frequently attacks publicly. He recently criticized Biden for being “unchanging, unapologetic, unaware” after Biden’s comments on segregationists, and called him “a disaster waiting to happen.”