Fox "Fox News Sunday" - Mayor Pete Buttigieg on challenging Democratic presidential frontrunners

Interview

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WALLACE: Pete Buttigieg is trying to get back into the top tier of 2020 Democratic candidates. And a strong performance in this week's debate paid off with more than $1 million in campaign contributions in the first 24 hours after the debate.

Joining us now is the mayor of South Bend, Indiana.

And, Mayor, welcome back.

BUTTIGIEG: Good to be with you.

WALLACE: Let's start with your latest poll numbers. In the RealClearPolitics average of recent surveys, you're in fourth place nationally at 5.8 percent, fourth in Iowa with 13 percent, and fourth in New Hampshire at 8.7 percent. As a candidate from the Midwest, and also looking at those numbers, don't you have to finish in the top at least two or three in Iowa or you're done?

BUTTIGIEG: I think it's certainly the case that a strong performance in Iowa is going to be critical to us winning the nomination. And that's what we're building toward. We've got a terrific ground game there, over 22, I believe, field offices now and 100 organizers, and I think a message that's really connecting with Iowans. You know, Democrats there, first and foremost, of course, want to know that we can defeat and replace President Trump. Also want to know how the policies we're putting forward are going to affect their lives. And whether it's Medicare for all who want it or the vision we're putting forward on any of a number of issues, we find that it's resonating.

But even now there are so many Iowans who maybe have it narrowed down to a top three or so but are taking their time, evaluating their choices. And we've got our work cut out for us to close the deal between now and the caucus.

WALLACE: You have stalled to some degree in the polls, as we just pointed out, at least nationally, ever since that terrible police shooting in South Bend, Indiana, this summer. And folks noticed a more aggressive performance by you in this last debate, taking on Elizabeth Warren on Medicare for all, Tulsi Gabbard on troops in Syria, and Beto O'Rourke on gun buybacks.

Take a look at you.

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BUTTIGIEG: Your signature, Senator, is to have a plan for everything, except this. Respectfully, Congresswoman, I think that is dead wrong.

I don't need lessons from you on courage, political or personal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALLACE: Was that a conscious effort to jumpstart your campaign?

BUTTIGIEG: Well, these are also topics I'm very passionate about. When it comes to what is being done to not just the Middle East, for example, but to American credibility. The fact that right now people who put their lives on the line, trusting that the United States would have their back, and are now betrayed, the fact that U.S. troops in the field feel that their honor has been stolen from them by their commander in chief, how can you not be fired up about something like that? And this is the season for us to lay out what we care about, what we're passionate about, and what's different among each of the candidates. And I want to make sure there's no question in any voter's mind how their life would be different under my presidency than if any of the others were to be elected.

WALLACE: Well, one of the distinctions you drew sharply is you said that 2021, if a Democrat is elected president, the -- the country can make historic gains on health care and immigration and guns, but not, you said, if they push too far and promise too much.

Do you think that some of the solutions that are being offered, whether it's on climate change, Medicare for all, by Senators Warren and Sanders, are too drastic?

BUTTIGIEG: I think that we have a chance to build an American majority around bold action. But it is the case that we could wreck that majority through purity tests. Look, take the example of this Medicare question. I'm proposing Medicare for all who want it. It means we create a version of Medicare, everybody can get access to it, and if you get -- if you want to keep your private plan, we're OK with that. I think that's a better policy than kicking people off of their plan.

But I also think that it's something that more Americans can get behind. And when you think about the condition our country's going to be in when this presidency comes to an end, one way or the other, when you think about how torn apart by politics we're going to be, how polarized and divided this country is, this, to me, is not a political question, it's a question of governing. The good news is, we can govern in a very bold and forward-leading direction, but we've got to make sure we do it in a way that moves toward unifying rather than further polarizing the American people.

WALLACE: Not surprisingly, the left is firing back at you when Elizabeth Warren said that she will not participate in big fundraisers, even if she is the Democratic nominee against Donald Trump in -- next fall. You said this, let's put it on the screen, we are not going to beat him -- Trump -- with pocket change. Here's how Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez responded. Small dollar grassroots campaigns, aka what Buttigieg insults here as pocket change, out fundraised him by millions. Our nation's leaders should be working to end the era of big money politics, not protect it.

So, what do you have to say to AOC?

BUTTIGIEG: Well, first of all, you don't go from mayor of South Bend to a competitive presidential candidate without knowing a thing or two about grassroots campaigning. My campaign is fueled by the contributions of almost 600,000 individual donors. And most of those are small contributions. What I'm saying is that we can't go into this fight against Donald Trump with one hand tied behind our back.

Look, the president of the United States and his allies just raised $125 million. They will pull out all of the stops to stay in power. And I think we have a responsibility to the country to make sure that we go into this fight, as Democrats, with everything that we've got, and not unilaterally disarming.

We indeed need to end the era of big money politics. That's why campaign finance reform is so important. And it will never happen as long as the folks currently in charge stay there.

WALLACE: The last time you and I talked was in August and I pointed out to you -- perhaps not too charitably -- that you were at zero percent in the polls among African-Americans. There's a new poll out in the last few days. You're now at two percent support among African-Americans.

When we last talked, you -- you -- you described a big outreach to minority communities, the African-American community. Why isn't it working?

BUTTIGIEG: Look, for me this isn't about the polls, this is about making sure that --

WALLACE: Well, in the end, it is about the polls.

BUTTIGIEG: But in order to do well, you need to deserve to do well. And we're focusing on the substance of what I have to offer. Voters want to know how their lives will be different. And in the case of African-American voters, they want to know what my agenda is for black Americans.

We're putting forward the most comprehensive plan of any candidate to tackle systemic racism in this country. It's everything from empowering black entrepreneurs and fueling business development, to making sure we deal with discrimination in housing and in health, to cutting incarceration in this country by 50 percent because we know that the criminal justice system disproportionately harms African-Americans. We need to continue making that case. It's extremely well-received whenever I have a chance to offer it up, but there are a lot of voters who are still sizing up their options, who need to feel like they know you. And our job is to do that in a short amount of time.

WALLACE: I want to press down on this just a little bit because you talk about needing to deserve it and voters trying to understand who you are.

You were supposed to attend a big fundraiser in Chicago on Friday. And one of the hosts was the same city attorney who worked very hard to block release of this video of police shooting Laquan McDonald. The lawyer backed out of -- of the fundraiser. He also donated $5,600 to your campaign. Particularly at a time when African-Americans are trying to get to know you, isn't that the kind of mistake, Mayor, that you can't afford to make?

BUTTIGIEG: Well, this came to my attention in the morning and within an hour it had been taken care of. Look, the situation there and justice and transparency for Laquan McDonald is much more important to me than a campaign contribution. And we did the right thing as soon as it came to my attention.

WALLACE: Can you understand where people would say, well, this is a guy who wants our vote but he was going to take -- was taking money, and was attending a fundraiser being held by this city attorney?

BUTTIGIEG: And then we took care of it.

Look, I think the biggest question on voter's minds is, how is my life going to be different, especially when that sun comes up, that first day after Donald Trump is president. And the agenda that I'm putting forward, the -- the issues that I want to tackle, I think will speak to black voters and to all voters who are seeking a better life in this country and seeking to turn the page from the chaos and the corruption that we're living under right now.

WALLACE: Mayor Buttigieg, thank you. Thanks for your time. Always good to talk with you. Safe travels on the campaign trail, sir.

BUTTIGIEG: Good to be with you.

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