(LibertySociety.com) – Secretary of the Department of Transportation, Pete Buttigieg, is under fire yet again. On February 21st, 2023, a reporter from The Daily Caller sought answers from Buttigieg as he was walking down the street in Washington, D.C. Jenny Taer tweeted a video of her interaction with Buttigieg, where she asked him to provide a comment for the residents of East Palestine, Ohio, to which he declined, referring the reporter to previous interviews that he had already given.
The journalist proceeded to ask him for a specific comment for The Daily Caller, getting nowhere with Buttigieg, who said he was taking some “personal time” while walking in D.C. Then out of nowhere, he pulled out his phone and weirdly asked Taer if he could take her picture, which has sparked outrage on social media and the news media. Harris Faulkner from Fox News noted that “Journalists are allowed to speak with public officials who are in public,” adding that she was curious if he was trying to be funny or targeting the journalist.
The video was viewed over 1.2 million times in less than 24 hours after Taer posted it to Twitter, with many of the comments accusing Buttigieg of intimidation of a journalist. This comes after he was criticized for waiting ten days after the train derailment to even acknowledge the accident publicly. His first public statement, via Twitter, discussed road safety and actions that his department was taking in efforts to improve it.
Buttigieg and President Joe Biden have both came under scrutiny for their responses to the accident that occurred on February 3rd. Former President Trump visited the city of East Palestine, Ohio on February 22nd, to meet with locals and donate supplies.
Copyright 2023, LibertySociety.com
