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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg swiftly hit back at Fox News host Neil Cavuto on Sunday after he was asked whether Donald Trump is a “fascist.”
Cavuto, in an interview with Buttigieg, claimed that Vice President Kamala Harris called Trump a “fascist” without mentioning that she agreed to the description after John Kelly — the former president’s longest-serving chief of staff — used the label for his ex-boss.
“That’s no way to break bread and make peace,” Cavuto added.
“She said that she did not disagree with his chief of staff who said that, somebody who knows him well. And again —,” Buttigieg said of Kelly, a retired U.S. Marine Corps general.
“Do you think — do you think that, mayor, that Donald Trump is a fascist. Do you think he’s that?” the Fox News host asked, using Buttigieg’s title from when he was mayor of South Bend, Indiana.
“I don’t think General Kelly is wrong. He knows Donald Trump much better than I do and I would not contradict General Kelly in his assessment of his former boss,” Buttigieg replied.
Moments earlier, Cavuto noted efforts by Buttigieg — a Harris campaign surrogate — to reach out to Republicans in areas “not generally seen as a blue wall bastion” such as Midland, Texas.
He further pointed to Buttigieg’s call with billionaire Trump backer Elon Musk, who implied on X (formerly Twitter) that the Federal Emergency Management Agency was shutting down airways to prevent Hurricane Helene recovery efforts.
Cavuto claimed that Harris hasn’t made similar efforts to communicate with conservatives and asked if the vice president will “regret” such a strategy.
“I’m not sure I can agree with the premise of that question,” replied Buttigieg, who noted that he hasn’t seen another Democratic presidential candidate pledge to include Republicans in their Cabinet and invite “prominent” GOP elected officials to campaign with her.
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The transportation secretary later noted that Americans have never seen a former president’s chief of staff or his vice president not support him.
“And by the same token, we’ve never seen a Democrat have that many Republicans who do support her,” he said.
“But I think the most important thing is the difference in the closing message between him talking about turning guns on people who disagree with them and her saying that if you’re a Republican, you will have a seat at the table in my administration.”
CAVUTO: She called him a fascistBUTTIGIEG: She said that she did not disagree with his chief of staff who said thatCAVUTO: Do you think Donald Trump is a fascist?BUTTIGIEG: I don’t think General Kelly is wrong. pic.twitter.com/QUlkrPlyju
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