Buttigieg Explains What He Wants 'Everyday Life' To Look Like For Americans In Pitch Perfect Rant

On his Substack Wednesday, former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigiegwrote about why he decided to enter the "manosphere" and sit down with the hosts of the Flagrant podcast.

The manosphere is defined as a "varied collection of websites, blogs, podcasts, and online forums by men and for men often promoting masculinity, misogyny, and opposition to feminism. Communities within it include men's rights activists, incels, Men Going Their Own Way, pick-up artists, and fathers' rights groups."

Buttigieg, who was tapped by Democratic President Joe Biden to serve as Secretary of Transportation, titled his Substack essay: "Why I Sat Down for a Two-Hour Podcast That Recently Hosted Trump—Going everywhere means seeking out audiences that may have never heard our message at all."

Indeed, while part of the Biden administration, former Democratic presidential candidate Buttigieg often had very successful appearances on right-wing, conservative media, explaining the administration's goals and actions.

Buttigieg wrote of appearing on Flagrant with hosts Andrew Schultz and Akaash Singh:

"This moment demands more than just good ideas—it demands that those of us who oppose the chaos and cruelty coming from Washington are showing up consistently in spaces where not everyone shares our views, or has even heard them directly from us at all."

"That’s why I sat down for a two-and-a-half-hour conversation on the podcast Flagrant—a show that hosted Donald Trump during the presidential campaign last year."

And judging by media and social media reactions, it was time well spent.

According to The Advocate:

"The former transportation secretary has briefed generals, grilled CEOs, and testified before Congress. But in his latest public appearance, he proved just as fluent in barbershop banter and locker-room one-liners as he is in public policy."

"Buttigieg showed that a Harvard grad, Rhodes Scholar, former mayor, and former presidential candidate can chop it up with some of YouTube’s biggest comedy bros without sounding rehearsed, robotic, or condescending."

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One segment of the nearly three hour appearance gaining a lot of attention is Buttigieg articulating his—and most Democrats'—version of the ideal America.

Buttigieg told the Flagrant hosts:

"I want everyday life to be better."

After a brief back and forth with Schultz, Mayor Pete explained:

"You get up in the morning. I want you to be able to get up in the morning and the first thing you do is you commute to work and, by the way, if you're on EV, I want that to be affordable for you or if you're on public transit... I want you to have good public transit to get to where you're going and then when you get to that job, I want you to be paid well."

"And if you're about to have a kid, I want you to know that you're going to have parental leave when you have that kid. And if you don't want to have a kid, I want you to have the the right to choose whether to have a kid which means access to birth control and and abortion and those things that give you the freedom to decide on that."

"And if you already have a kid, when you pick them up at school, I want that school to be good, not having its funding slashed while they set fire to the Department of Education."

"And then when you get home, I want you to be in a neighborhood that is safe and where you can breathe the air because we didn't let them get rid of the clean air act and you don't have to think for one moment about whether the air you breathe or the water you drink is clean and clear, which actually takes a lot because it means the government has to constrain those actors that would make you unfree by polluting the air and polluting the water."

"And then when you go to bed, I want you to know that your family's going to be fine, even if it's family like mine, despite there being some supreme court justice who wants to obliterate your family because it doesn't match his interpretation of his religion."

"Like, that's the life I want everybody to be able to live."

When asked what Americans really need, Buttigieg stated:

"I think all of them are some version of the same thing which is freedom and security, and with that, I think democracy, but really, I don't think a lot of people like come up on the street saying like I want more democracy."

"I think there's a way that's absolutely true, but in terms of what people really want, I think people want to live a life of their choosing, they want things to work, they want our country to be better than any other country in terms of the quality of our roads and the strength of our economy and the kind of education they can get."

People were highly impressed with Buttigieg's ability to relate and articulate.

Another Buttigieg quote, on inequality, that seems to have penetrated the manosphere is:

"No republic has ever survived this level of inequality for long and remained a republic."

As he explained on Substack:

"I know that a podcast with an almost all-male viewership, which prides itself on rejecting political correctness and is skeptical of all things 'woke,' represents an audience that might not be inclined to give my party the benefit of the doubt."

"That’s the point."

He added:

"It won’t always be easy, but I’m convinced that over time, these conversations, in-person and with people you know, can make a real impact in building the kind of future we want to see."

"One thing that is clear from the last election is that my side of the aisle must examine not only what we have to say, but how and where we say it."

"That’s why you can count on me to keep showing up—anywhere there’s a chance to have a real conversation with anyone willing to engage."

You can watch the full 2 hour 50 minute Flagrant podcast episode with Pete Buttigieg here:

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