South Bend mayor (well, technically he’s still the mayor even though he’s traveling the country running for president) hosted a town hall on Sunday afternoon to discuss the recent fatal shooting of a black man by a white officer. It is not going well:
The tension in the air is palpable at this town hall in South Bend. Some folks interrupting Buttigieg, other folks yelling at them to stop
— Josh Lederman (@JoshNBCNews) June 23, 2019
Buttigieg town hall is getting out of control
— Josh Lederman (@JoshNBCNews) June 23, 2019
Very, very hostile town hall for Pete Buttigieg over a police shooting in South Bend. The crowd gets upset and angry when a representative for Al Sharpton is the first to take the mic for questions from the crowd. This thing is teetering on the edge of chaos.
— Matt Pearce ? (@mattdpearce) June 23, 2019
Here’s a shot of what it’s like inside the hall:
A sample: pic.twitter.com/FaHTr9zTbn
— Matt Pearce ? (@mattdpearce) June 23, 2019
One voter questioned if Buttigieg was in a rush so he could head back to South Carolina. Again:
Things are still tense at this South Bend town hall with Mayor Buttigieg.
Moderator asks audience shouting questions to be respectful of the mayor’s schedule.
One man yells back:
“You gotta get back to South Carolina like you was yesterday?” pic.twitter.com/xzGq6i0iRx
— Aaron Franco (@AFrancoTX) June 23, 2019
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Well, it’s pretty easy to understand what’s going on actually:
I’m tryna understand what’s happening at this town hall with @PeteButtigieg because this is a whole entire mess
— Alicia Garza (@aliciagarza) June 23, 2019
The crowd wants people fired:
Taking the pulse of the room here at @PeteButtigieg town hall, where the community is understandably angry and raw, there is likely nothing he could say that would satisfy them other than summarily & immediately firing officers & chief, which he’s explaining he can’t legally do
— Josh Lederman (@JoshNBCNews) June 23, 2019
Maybe it’s either time for Buttigieg to resign as mayor or call it quits on his campaign. He can’t have both:
Buttigieg is pretty somber and solemn and serious as he explains protocols, procedures, state laws, safety boards… and meanwhile, the crowd is mad as hell because another community member is dead and they suspect the government is not gonna do a damn thing they want it to do.
— Matt Pearce ? (@mattdpearce) June 23, 2019
And racial problems are nothing new under his leadership:
Under Pete Buttigieg, racial tension has long plagued South Bend's Police Department https://t.co/ZFZOGZOR9F pic.twitter.com/LeaR54t9sa
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) June 23, 2019
It did not go well for Buttigieg on Saturday as well when he skipped Jim Clyburn’s fish fry to head home and meet with his voters:
Yikes…
Pete Buttigieg tries to read talking points off a piece of paper while Black Lives Matter protesters yell at him:
BLM: “You expect black people to vote for you?”
Pete: “I’m not asking for your vote.”
BLM: “You’re not going to get it.” pic.twitter.com/WEmPzZc8DY
— Caleb Hull (@CalebJHull) June 22, 2019
Buttigieg is about to be Butti-GONE we think:
This #Buttigieg town hall is… many things, and none of them look positive for him. #ButtigiegTownHall
— Bärí A. Williams (@BariAWilliams) June 23, 2019
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