Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg declared President Trump a racist on Friday, marking one of the first times he’s referred to the president in such an extreme manner.
“My generation saw this country elect its first black president and then turn around and elect a racist to the White House — and we ought to call that what it is,” Buttigieg said to loud cheers from the crowd.
Buttigieg, who is the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, also discussed his “Douglass Plan” to eradicate systemic racism while speaking at the National Urban League’s annual conference in Indianapolis.
He rolled out the plan, named after the 19th-century abolitionist Frederick Douglass, on his campaign website earlier this month. The proposal outlines a system for better investment in African American healthcare, increases funds for programs that boost education, and encourages more teaching of the history of slavery and civil rights in schools.
“I think for too long we have believed that we were on a path where systemic racism was going to take care of itself in this country,” Buttigieg said at Friday’s conference. “I’m going to be speaking about these issues not only with mostly black audiences, but with mostly white audiences.”
Buttigieg has struggled to gain traction among black voters in recent months and faced significant criticism after the shooting death of Eric Logan in South Bend by police. Buttigieg had to step away from his campaign for a time to deal with the aftermath and response of the shooting.
A CNN poll released earlier this month showed Buttigieg received zero support from black Democratic voters.
