CNN "State of the Union" - Transcript: Interview With Presidential Candidate Pete Buttigieg

Interview

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My next guest is also claiming victory in the Iowa caucuses, and he's polling in the top two ahead of New Hampshire's primary on Tuesday.

But that newfound front-runner status also puts a big target on his back, and his opponents are making clear with new attacks this weekend.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TAPPER: Joining me now, 2020 presidential candidate former Mayor Pete Buttigieg.

Mayor Buttigieg, thanks so much for joining us.

Both you and Bernie Sanders have declared victory in Iowa.

I want you to take a listen to a comment you made when you were asked about the Electoral College in a CNN town hall last year.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUTTIGIEG: At risk of sounding a little simplistic, one thing I believe is that, in an American presidential election, the person who gets the most votes ought to be the person who wins.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: If you use that standard in Iowa, it appears that Senator Sanders got 6,000 more votes than you, even if you currently lead in the state delegate equivalent.

Is it fair to say, using the Buttigieg standard, that Senator Sanders won the Iowa caucus?

(LAUGHTER)

BUTTIGIEG: Well, this is about getting delegates.

But I'm happy to congratulate Senator Sanders on a fantastic night, just as we had a terrific night, a huge validation for the message of this campaign, for what we have to say about bringing everybody into a shared vision that I think is going to defeat Donald Trump in November.

TAPPER: Are you essentially saying it was a tie?

BUTTIGIEG: I will let other folks characterize it, but sure.

I mean, it was a great night for Bernie and it was a phenomenal night for us. I mean, this is a campaign that began a year ago with no money, no national name recognition. Our exploratory committee staff started out, I think, with four people in a tiny office. I don't have any personal fortune. We built this.

And what we were able to build is, I think, a different vision for what America can be. We're turning the page, leaving the politics of the past in the past.

And what I'm especially encouraged by is that the result that we had in Iowa came from rural and urban and suburban communities. We did well in counties that had voted for President Obama and then voted for Trump, and really demonstrated, I think, how we can put that majority together to win.

But, look, New Hampshire is New Hampshire. It's a different state. It thinks for itself, independent-minded. Folks here aren't going to let Iowa or anybody else tell them what to think.

And so we're working very hard every day, meeting as many voters as we can, taking questions, doing events, and looking forward to earning a good night here too on Tuesday.

TAPPER: So, take a listen to this brand-new digital ad from Vice President Joe Biden's campaign which was just released.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NARRATOR: Joe Biden helped lead the passage of the Affordable Care Act, which give health care to 20 million people.

And when park-goers called on Pete Buttigieg, he installed decorative lights under bridges.

Joe Biden helped to negotiate the Iran deal.

And under threat of disappearing pets, Buttigieg negotiated lighter licensing regulations on pet chip scanners.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: What's your response?

(LAUGHTER)

BUTTIGIEG: Well, it's a typical political attack.

And it's too bad, because so many communities, communities like mine in South Bend, we know that we might look small from the perspective of Washington, but, to us, it's what's going on in Washington that looks so small and small-minded.

And communities, whether they're my size, or rural communities, or even neighborhoods in our biggest cities that feel completely left behind, are frustrated with being made into a punchline by Washington politicians.

TAPPER: After CNN's Jeff Zeleny pointed out that Biden made a similar inexperience attack on Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential race, former Vice President Biden replied -- quote -- "This guy's not a Barack Obama."

What do you think of that?

BUTTIGIEG: Well, he's right. I'm not. And neither is he. Neither is any of us running for president.

And this isn't 2008. It's 2020. And we are in a new moment, calling for a different kind of leadership.

Look, we are facing the most disruptive president in modern times. And I don't think the same playbook that helped us get here is going to work against him.

We're also facing the most divisive president in modern times, which is why I'm equally concerned about a message that says, if you're not either -- if you're not for revolution, you must be for the status quo, because I think that leaves most people out.

I'm building a campaign that's about calling as many people as possible in, standing together to make sure that we not only defeat Donald Trump, but face the issues that our country is going to be confronting.

I mean, look at what's going to be on the next president's desk, not just the conventional issues that we have been dealing with all along, but cybersecurity challenges, election security attacks, global health security concerns like -- like pandemics, and, here at home, an economy that's being transformed by forces from automation, to the gig economy changing what it is to be a worker.

[09:20:12]

We're going to have a lot to deal with. And the only way to get it done is to do it together.

TAPPER: Your opponent Bernie Sanders has unleashed a new attack on you, starting a hashtag #PetesBillionaires.

Take a listen to Senator Sanders.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SANDERS: Unlike some of the folks up here, I don't have 40 billionaires, Pete, contributing to my campaign.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) SANDERS: If we want to change America, you're not going to do it by electing candidates who are going out to rich people's homes begging for money.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: What do you say to that?

BUTTIGIEG: Well, Bernie's pretty rich, and I would happily accept a contribution from him.

Look, this is about making sure we bring everybody into the fight, at a moment when we're going to be going up against Donald Trump, who, with his allies, are raising -- I think the other day, they raised 25 million bucks in one day.

This is the fight of our lives. I'm not a fan of the current campaign finance system, but I'm also insistent that we have got to go into this with all of the support we can get.

And, by the way, my campaign is where it is because hundreds of thousands of individuals, no corporate PACs, individuals, have contributed through PeteforAmerica.com.

And in, I think, two million-plus contributions, the average, under 40 bucks.

I'm the mayor of South Bend. It's not like that's an establishment fund-raising powerhouse. We were able to get here by putting together a movement. And that movement is the one that is going to turn the page, bring an end to the Trump presidency, and lead us to the moment that's got to come next.

TAPPER: I want to follow up on a question from the debate.

You were asked by Linsey Davis about why the marijuana possession arrest rates for black residents of South Bend is more than four times higher than the arrest rates for white residents.

You admitted that your city was not immune to systemic racism. But I guess the question was, do you personally take responsibility, any responsibility, for that racial disparity in marijuana arrests?

BUTTIGIEG: Well, all of us are implicated in these problems.

And I take responsibility for everything good, bad and indifferent that we did in our city. But I also take responsibility for the fact that arrest rates for black residents in my city on drug charges were lower than in the state and around the country.

But, look, that doesn't get any of us off the hook. These systemic disparities and the systemic discrimination that goes on throughout our system are one of the reasons I am calling, not only for us to legalize marijuana, but for us to end incarceration as a response to drug possession altogether. Not only that, we have got to look at situations, as we go back

through the years, all the way back to the crime bill, incarceration has done so much more harm than the offense that it was intended to deal with.

And that means looking at expungements. That means a focus on reentry and ensuring that people can get back on their feet.

Something else we did proactively with measures like Ban the Box for hiring in the city of South Bend -- we have got a long way to go. And if there's one thing I learned as mayor, it's that this entire country needs to come to a reckoning about how the criminal legal system is barely worth the name of justice, especially when it comes to the racial disparities that it's perpetuated.

TAPPER: Last question, just a yes or no. Are you going to win in New Hampshire?

BUTTIGIEG: We're in it to win it, and we're planning on a big night.

TAPPER: All right, former Mayor Pete Buttigieg, thanks so much for your time, sir. Appreciate it.

BUTTIGIEG: Good to be with you.

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