Openly gay Democratic presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg had an impressive showing Sunday night as he answered questions at a Fox News town hall event hosted by anchor Chris Wallace.
While most Democratic candidates aren’t heading over to the conservative cable news outlet for coverage, Buttigieg defended the appearance. “If we don’t show up, the conservative media will tell our side of the story for us,” he told Wallace.
The 37-year-old mayor is the third Democratic contender to show up to a Fox News event. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) participated in a Q&A for the conservative cable news outlet in April, and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn) appeared at a network town hall earlier in May.
Last week, however, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass) declined an invitation from Fox News to appear at a similar event.
Across a wide variety of topics, Buttigieg answered questions without pause or having to qualify his responses.
In the aftermath of Alabama’s newly-passed ban on abortion, Buttigieg was asked about the legislation. He answered that he trusts “women to draw the line.”
“I trust women to draw the line when it is their own body,” he said. “I believe that the right of a woman to make her own decisions about her own reproductive health and her own body is a national right, I believe it is an American freedom.”
The decision to have an abortion “is not going to be made any better, medically or morally, because the government is dictating how that decision should be made,” he added.
I believe that the right of a woman to make her own decisions about her reproductive health and about her body is a national right. I believe it is an American freedom that should be enjoyed by women in every state. The next president needs to be ready to protect those rights. pic.twitter.com/NM5IJkO9GO
— Pete Buttigieg (@PeteButtigieg) May 20, 2019
Asked how he felt he would handle attacks and tweets from Donald Trump in a general election, Buttigieg replied, “The tweets are…I don’t care.”
The answer spurred a big round of applause from the audience attending the event in Claremont, New Hampshire.
Buttigieg did note that it was “hard for anyone to look away” when the Trumpster tweets, but qualified that saying “it is the nature of grotesque things that you can’t look away.”
We have to make it less about him and more about what matters. That's the best way to defeat him. pic.twitter.com/2PxuncQ6bW
— Pete Buttigieg (@PeteButtigieg) May 20, 2019
“A lot of folks in my party were critical of me even doing this with Fox News,” Buttigieg told Wallace. “And I get where that’s coming from, especially when you see what goes on with some of the opinion hosts on this network.”
“I mean, when you got Tucker Carlson saying that immigrants make American dirty; when you got Laura Ingraham comparing detention centers with children in cages to summer camps—summer camps—then, there is a reason why anyone has to swallow hard and think twice before participating in this media ecosystem,” he continued.
“But, I also believe that even though some of those hosts are not always there in good faith, I think a lot of people tune into this network who do it in good faith,” he concluded.
Even though some of these hosts are not always there in good faith, I think a lot of people tune into this network in good faith.
Whether it’s going on Fox or going into places where Democrats haven’t been seen much, we have to find people where they are–not change our values. pic.twitter.com/xNHoD0uzE4
— Pete Buttigieg (@PeteButtigieg) May 20, 2019
At the end of the hour-long town hall, Buttigieg was given a chance to address the audience directly. His appeal was met with a standing ovation, surprising Wallace.
Pete Buttigieg Gets Standing Ovation at End of Fox News Town Hall, Surprising Chris Wallace https://t.co/umsBxi5h8v pic.twitter.com/SU6G9RpwCE
— Mediaite (@Mediaite) May 20, 2019
The Hill reports the town hall event drew 1.1 million viewers.
The appearance clearly got under the president’s skin as Trump criticized his favorite network via Twitter.
Hard to believe that @FoxNews is wasting airtime on Mayor Pete, as Chris Wallace likes to call him. Fox is moving more and more to the losing (wrong) side in covering the Dems. They got dumped from the Democrats boring debates, and they just want in. They forgot the people…..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 19, 2019
….who got them there. Chris Wallace said, “I actually think, whether you like his opinions or not, that Mayor Pete has a lot of substance…fascinating biography.” Gee, he never speaks well of me – I like Mike Wallace better…and Alfred E. Newman will never be President!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 19, 2019
In case you missed the telecast, you can watch the town hall below.
