South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg
Peter (Pete) Paul ButtigiegMayor Pete's sexuality should not enter into political discussions Chasten Buttigieg emerges as Mayor Pete's secret weapon Warren swipes at Biden for 'swanky private fundraiser' MORE (D) clarified comments he made over the weekend comparing supporters of President Trump
Donald John TrumpPrevention is a critical tool in the fight against addiction USMCA is a needed reprieve from Trump-induced uncertainty Sam Donaldson slams Sarah Sanders: She's had 'a lifetime achievement Oscar for lying' MORE and Sen. Bernie Sanders
Bernard (Bernie) SandersBiden campaign says it will not accept support from super PACs Moulton: Sanders, Warren too liberal to beat Trump in 2020 Chasten Buttigieg emerges as Mayor Pete's secret weapon MORE (I-Vt.), telling NBC the two represent “radically different” philosophies.
“My point is that people have been motivated to want to blow up the establishment. And Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump represent radically different ways of doing that,” Buttigieg, a Democratic presidential candidate, told NBC News’s Josh Lederman.
“But I think part of how each of them was able to get some appeal was by speaking to the frustration that so many Americans have with anything perceived as the establishment, anything seen as being committed to the political and economic systems that have been prevailing really for my entire life,” the 37-year-old mayor added.
Just now - I asked @PeteButtigieg about some Sanders supporters including @RoKhanna upset that Buttigieg suggested Sanders and Trump supporters were motivated by the same economic anxieties. Here’s what he said: pic.twitter.com/UTInTBzHHl
— Josh Lederman (@JoshNBCNews) April 22, 2019
In his initial comments on Sunday, Buttigieg told a crowd of supporters in New Hampshire that economic woes prompt voters to “want to vote to blow up the system,” which could make either Trump or Sanders appealing to them.
Buttigieg, a relatively unknown name in the national landscape until recent months, has surged in the polls and come in third behind Sanders and former Vice President Joe Biden
Joseph (Joe) Robinette BidenBiden campaign says it will not accept support from super PACs Chasten Buttigieg emerges as Mayor Pete's secret weapon Qatari embassy's correspondents weekend party light on jokes, big on dancing MORE, who has not yet formally announced a run.
Rep. Ro Khanna
Rohit (Ro) KhannaThe Hill's 12:30 Report: Biden denies treating Anita Hill 'badly' Dem race shows signs it could get nasty The Hill's Morning Report - Trump tells House investigators 'no' MORE (D-Calif.), national co-chairman of Sanders’s 2020 campaign, criticized Buttigieg’s remarks on Twitter, calling them “intellectually dishonest.” Sanders, Khanna wrote, “wants to blow up credentialed elitism — those who reject tuition free college for all."
Come on @PeteButtigieg. It is intellectually dishonest to compare Bernie to Trump. Bernie is for giving people healthcare, education, childcare, & more pay. He wants to blow up credentialed elitism — those who reject tuition free college for all. https://t.co/WmliyE8uDe
— Ro Khanna (@RoKhanna) April 21, 2019
Buttigieg communications adviser Lis Smith responded to Khanna’s tweet Sunday evening and denied it was intended as an attack on Sanders.
“Acknowledging that the system was so broken that voters were looking to .@BernieSanders over the Dem establishment is not an insult, it’s the reality,” Smith tweeted.
Come on, @RoKhanna. Acknowledging that the system was so broken that voters were looking to @BernieSanders over the Dem establishment is not an insult, it’s the reality. https://t.co/rMrjOWHbDY
— Lis Smith (@Lis_Smith) April 21, 2019
Buttigieg has repeatedly spoken of Trump voters as seeking to disrupt the system, and warned that the results of special counsel Robert Mueller
Robert (Bob) Swan MuellerSasse: US should applaud choice of Mueller to lead Russia probe MORE’s recently concluded investigation would not sway many of the president’s supporters because they “voted to burn the house down because of some very deep issues that motivated them to send a message.”