“I think the moment you come on board with a project like the Trump campaign or the Trump-Pence administration, you are at best complicit in the process that has given cover for the flourishing and the resurgence of white nationalism in our midst,” Pete Buttigieg said. | Richard Shiro/AP Photo 2020 Elections Pete Buttigieg calls Pence 'at best complicit' with resurgence of white nationalism

Democratic presidential candidate and South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg said Wednesday that Vice President Mike Pence is "at best complicit" in the resurgence of white nationalist groups in the wake of President Donald Trump's election.

Asked about his fellow Hoosier — Pence is the former governor of Indiana — on Buzzfeed News’s online show “AM to DM,” Buttigieg said the vice president has been “consistently horrible” and said Americans face a danger of the continued radicalization with “what seems at best to be a level of negligence, if not encouragement, coming from the highest office in the land.”


“I think the moment you come on board with a project like the Trump campaign or the Trump-Pence administration, you are at best complicit in the process that has given cover for the flourishing and the resurgence of white nationalism in our midst,” Buttigieg said.

“It’s an obligation for anyone in a position of authority or power — or even just visibility — to speak out about why it’s wrong, why it’s not consistent with American values and why if we really want to talk about safety and security, that has less to do about putting up a wall from sea to shining sea than making sure that people are not continuing to be radicalized into violent white nationalism,” the mayor said during the interview.

A spokeswoman for the vice president did not immediately return a request for comment.

At 37, Buttigieg is the youngest Democrat in the already crowded 2020 Democratic field and the only openly gay candidate. He launched his long-shot bid with the formation of an exploratory committee in January, but grabbed national attention after a widely heralded performance in a CNN town hall, during which Buttigieg also slammed Pence.

Asked about his campaign's increased momentum, Buttigieg said he thinks the way to outlive a candidate’s “flavor of the month” phase is offer voters an honest, substantial message.

“What we’re trying to do is put forward an account of where America is headed; what we think we need to do about it; what freedom, democracy and security mean in substantive terms, especially why they point in a progressive direction in my view,” he said.

Buttigieg also, in response to a question about what it means to be the first openly gay presidential contender, presented himself as a candidate who can to some degree relate to others who have felt marginalized by society.

“Part of what identity, in its best sense, can do for us is give us terms to have solidarity with others — others who may have experiences that I can’t quite personally understand or relate to,” he said.