Pete Buttigieg slams Donald Trump for lack of compassion toward bridge collapse victims

Out Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg called on former President Donald Trump “at a human level” to express some sort of regret at the loss of life experienced when the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore collapsed last month, killing six people – all immigrants – who were working on the bridge.

“At a human level, it would be helpful for the former president to weigh in here and show the solidarity that we have seen from most if not all elected officials on either side of the aisle because of the human nature of what happened,” Buttigieg said during an appearance on MSNBC’s Inside with Jen Psaki.

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He also bragged about being the person responsible for the overturning of “Roe v. Wade.”

“The fact that you had, you know, these six people who lost their lives, a seventh very seriously injured, who were out there doing the work that all of us count on but don’t always think about.”

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“That was a chilly night they were out filling potholes, mending the road… We count on so many workers in this country, many of them immigrants, to do these vitally important infrastructure jobs. They’re not glamorous, they’re not the highest-paying jobs in the country, but they’re absolutely essential,” Buttigieg emphasized.

On March 26, a 95,000-ton cargo ship hit the bridge following a power issue on board. Footage showed the ship hitting a column supporting the bridge, causing it to collapse within seconds as the ship burst into flames.

As the investigation into the disaster continues, Buttigieg has said that anyone found responsible “will be held accountable.”

The tragedy occurred in the midst of far-right Republicans hurling some of their most vicious attacks on immigrants yet. Trump recently doubled down on his desire to refer to undocumented immigrants as “animals.”

“The Democrats say, ‘Please don’t call them animals. They’re humans.’ I said, ‘No, they’re not humans, they’re not humans, they’re animals,'” he said during a recent speech in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Speaking to Psaki, Buttigieg emphasized again that “at a human level showing some regard for” the deaths of the six workers and the essential jobs they were doing “is very important.” He added, “And that’s what, characteristically, President Biden was doing when I was with him in Baltimore.”

"Just at a human level it would be helpful for the former president to weigh in here and show the solidarity that we've seen from most, if not all, elected officials on either side of the aisle."@SecretaryPete on Trump failing to acknowledge victims of Baltimore bridge collapse pic.twitter.com/YSRb71pxeN

— Inside with Jen Psaki (@InsideWithPsaki) April 7, 2024

President Joe Biden visited the site of the collapse with Buttigieg on Friday.

“I’m here to say, your nation has your back, and I mean it. Your nation has your back,” Biden said during the visit. “My vow is that we will not rest… until the cement has dried on the entirety of a new bridge.” He also reportedly met with the families of the victims.

Buttigieg also addressed right-wing claims that the collapse somehow took place due to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, a claim Psaki called “absurdity.”

“This is another one of those moments where all they have is a hammer, and everything looks like a culture war,” Buttigieg said. “This is not about women and minorities, this is about a bridge that was struck by a ship,” he said.

“I just don’t understand the mentality of somebody who sees an issue like this that was a very physical and direct infrastructure issue and their first thought is, ‘How can I make this about women and minorities?’”

“There’s nothing, or at least there should be nothing ideological or partisan about helping a community get through a tragedy like this.”

.@SecretaryPete: "I think this is another one of those moments where all they have is a hammer and everything looks like a culture war… This is not about culture wars. This is about safety, it's about transportation & infrastructure." pic.twitter.com/VjDJhhk5aN

— Inside with Jen Psaki (@InsideWithPsaki) April 7, 2024

Extremist Republicans have also found a way to blame Buttigieg’s sexuality on the incident.

“Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg to address Baltimore Bridge collapse as soon as he’s done chestfeeding,” one popular conservative X account posted in the immediate aftermath of the collapse, using a term that transmasculine people often use to describe feeding their children. Homophobic conservatives have been saying that Buttigieg chest- or breastfeeds his kids for years as an anti-gay joke.