SOUTH BEND, IN—In response to recent criticism of his campaign and political record, Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg admitted Monday that he only recently realized that black people can vote. “I’ll be the first one to acknowledge that I’ve had some blind spots in my political career, and I’ve learned some hard truths over the past few months, one of which is that African Americans have been able to vote in this country for decades,” said the mayor of South Bend, IN, apologizing to the city’s black residents for his lack of attention to the problems facing their community and his belief that they didn’t possess the legal right to cast a ballot for any elected office. “In the time since I announced my campaign, my eyes have been opened to the realities of this country’s systemic racism, and also black suffrage. I realize that some of the things I’ve done as mayor and said on the campaign trail aren’t going to play as well with this constituency, although, to be fair, I’ve only just realized that they’re a constituency. I honestly had no idea. But going forward, my message to black Americans is that I want your vote now that I know that you have one.” Buttigieg added that in order to avoid alienating potential supporters, he would be open to not letting black people vote.

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