(LibertySociety.com) – Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg appeared on CNN’s State of the Union to discuss the impending government shutdown. He spoke about the effects it could have on training and hiring air traffic controllers, in addition to the department’s work on new transportation technology. Buttigieg told Dana Bash that “House Republicans need to come to their senses” and avoid a shutdown. He claimed that the American people are opposed to a shutdown, despite frequent top trends on social media suggesting otherwise.
The discussion unsurprisingly shifted to former President Trump when Buttigieg discussed President Biden’s upcoming trip to Detroit to support union workers engaged in a strike. Former President Trump previously announced that he would meet with the workers instead of attending the second Republican primary debate. Trump accused President Biden of only scheduling a trip to Michigan because he was planning to go, but Buttigieg brushed off the accusation. He told Bash that Biden is “doing what he has always done, which is to stand with American workers.” He also accused Trump of being anti-union.
Buttigieg then shifted to discussing Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley’s retirement, blasting former President Trump for speaking negatively about him. In a recent Truth Social post, Trump torched Milley for his admission of discussing national security information with the Chinese government after media-derived rumors of Trump attacking China circulated. Trump noted that an action like that would have been punished by death in the past.
Buttigieg called Trump’s remarks “a pattern of outrageous attacks on the people who keep this country safe.” He also brought up previous comments allegedly made by Trump to Milley about a wounded veteran, although they were only reported by The Atlantic and never corroborated. Buttigieg nonetheless repeated the rumor as if it were fact. Previous rumors about negative remarks toward military veterans were widely refuted by Trump’s inner circle. Former National Security Adviser John Bolton, who is highly critical of Trump, blew up another narrative started by The Atlantic about fallen American soldiers.
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