Pete Buttigieg dismantles Fox host’s claim about violent crime in just 7 words

Out Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg accused Fox News host Lawrence Jones of “cherrypicking” data to say that Democrats are not doing enough to protect Black people from violent crime. Buttigieg then flattened the claim with a seven-word response that turned the tables on Jones and his Republican talking point.

During the contentious interview, which occurred the morning after the first night of the Democratic National Convention, Jones said, “So let’s talk about the record of the Biden-Harris administration…. When you look at crime, violent crime across 66 major cities is up almost 10% at 9.6%. Is that a record that you can run on?”

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“Donald Trump would sell this country for $1 if it meant lining his own pockets,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said.

Buttigieg replied, “I often wonder, you know, whether viewers of this network are aware that violent crime went up under Donald Trump. I think that deserves more coverage so we can ask ourselves why, and some of that has to do with policy.”

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Those seven words—”violent crime went up under Donald Trump”—deserve some unpacking.

While violent crimes — defined by the FBI as homicide, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault — dropped for the first three years of Trump’s presidency. However, in 2020, the violent crime rate spiked to 385.2 per 100,000 people — higher than any previous year under Trump — largely due to social and economic unrest during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, WRAL reported.

As for Biden’s record, while voters have increasingly expressed concern about violent crime since 2021, a May 2024 report from the journalism research organization The Poynter Institute found that violent crime is near a record 50-year low, writing, “The FBI’s violent crime rate for 2022, the last year officially available, was 370 per 100,000 population. Since 1972, only two years have had a lower violent crime rate: 2014 and 2019.”

Buttigieg continued, “Some of [the rise in crime under Trump] has to do with the message we send when you have Donald Trump, an unrepentant convicted criminal, running against a prosecutor like Kamala Harris, we have an opportunity to send a message about whether we’re serious on law and order in this country, or whether it’s a talking point, whether it’s just something people try to use as a political theme for partisan gain.”

Jones, who is Black, responded that he himself has reported on crime often and isn’t using it for partisan gain, adding, “The people who are being killed in places all over the country, they look like me — they don’t look like you — and they’re upset with the Democratic Party not taking it seriously. [Democrats] sent the calvary in for you guys [during the convention], for your protection, but the people of Chicago don’t see that on a day-to-day basis. What are you guys going to do to stop the bloodshed in our community?”

Buttigieg said that, during his time as mayor of South Bend, Indiana, “The toughest part of the job was dealing with gun violence, and the most heartbreaking part of the job was comforting, or trying to comfort, mothers who just wanted their child back.”

“The big question, I think, for politics, for policy, for media, is who is going to help them versus who is going to use them?… The question is, what are you going to actually do when you come into office to actually confront gun violence?”

Buttigieg then said that 90% of Americans, including more than 80% of Republicans, agree with doing universal background checks, “But Donald Trump says no,” Buttigieg said. “The Republican Party says no.”

Jones interjected, “There were over 20 people shot last week, five people shot over the weekend.”

Buttigeig said, “Then why would we elect leaders who won’t do anything about gun violence?”

Jones said, “It’s the Democrats that run the city. Name the Republicans in charge. Tell me: one Republican in charge of Chicago, name them.”

“Listen to me,” Buttigieg said, “because not only did we have those levels of crime under Democratic and Republican leaders, right? But if you want to try to cherry pick this for partisan purposes, you want to play that game? Let’s talk.”

Jones said he wasn’t asking for partisan purposes, adding, “I told you, Mr. Mayor, [the victims] look like me, not you.”

Buttigieg continued, “So is the case in Boston, where there is a much lower murder rate and also a Democratic mayor. We can talk about how the murder rate in Mississippi is double what it is in Illinois. Now I can go around saying that the murder rate in Mississippi is double what it is in Illinois, because Mississippi has a Republican governor and Illinois has a Democratic governor. But you and I both know it just doesn’t work. that way.”

JONES: Over 20 people shot last week

BUTTIGIEG: Then why would we elect leaders who won't do anything about gun violence?

J: Name one R in charge in Chicago

B: Want to play that game? We could talk about the murder rate in Mississippi being double what it is in Illinois pic.twitter.com/Xo7Tt4EXTm

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 20, 2024

Elsewhere in the interview, Jones asked about President Joe Biden’s mental fitness to continue serving as president. He asked Buttigieg when Democrats realized that Biden was “unfit” to run for re-election. Biden dropped out on July 21, following his lackluster June 27 debate performance against Trump.

Jones noted The New York Times reports alleging that the 81-year-old president’s Cabinet meetings are “scripted” with pre-determined questions and bullet-point responses to accommodate him and that former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) reportedly had to take over the 2023 debt ceiling negotiations with congressional Republicans. Jones also noted an Axios report claiming that Biden is only available for work between the hours of 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each weekday.

“That’s funny,” Buttigieg replied. “Sometimes I feel like conservative media and the Republican Party still think they’re running against Joe Biden…. I think, in any job, but especially the presidency, you want to be judged by your results — people want to nitpick the show flow of a Cabinet meeting.”

“We have had a country that, when he inherited it, was in a condition where you couldn’t even approach the Capitol because of the violent assaults on the Capitol by Trump supporters,” Buttigieg added, referencing the January 6, 2021 riots. He then mentioned Biden’s accomplishments in restoring the country’s economy and infrastructure.

“I just want to know, when did you guys know that the president was unfit to be on the ticket?” Jones asked.

Buttigieg began replying, “The president is not unfit to be—”

Jones asked, “So why is he not the nominee right now?”

Buttigieg replied, “Because he did something that Donald Trump cannot comprehend. He put his ego aside.”

When Jones restated his initial questions about the news reports on Biden’s work, Buttigieg replied, “That’s the point. You can go over whether [Biden] slips up and says one name when he wants to say another name, or you can look at what he’s actually accomplished as president. It turns out he’s really good at being president of the United States.”

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