New Hampshire

Pete Buttigieg Talks Climate Change, National Security at ‘Politics & Eggs'

South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg is the latest featured speaker at "Politics & Eggs," where he touched upon creating a generational alliance in order to advance the country.

"The very things that made our communities and our country great in the past was the fact that our forebears kept their eyes focused squarely on the future," he said.

Buttigieg acknowledged numerous times that he is the youngest potential 2020 candidate. He boasted his age gives him a unique understanding to young voters.

"I was in high school when the Columbine shooting happened," Buttigieg said. "I literally belong to the school generation and understand what is in the eyes of young people who are calling an older generation to account for our failure to keep them safe."

He continued the topic on how his age gives him an understanding of millennials' concerns on climate change.

"I belong to the generation that will be dealing for the rest of our lives with the implications of climate change," he said. "That is a personal issue for us, not a theoretical one."

Buttigieg stressed that his age isn't just to appease younger voters, but a way to connect different generations to better the U.S.

"It isn't just about a young candidate for young voters," Buttigieg said. "I think we have the opportunity to build a generational alliance because I think every generation wants to see the country on track to be in good shape by, let’s say 2054, which is when I would reach the current age of the current president."

When national security was brought up, Buttigieg said he believes U.S. safety is more than "a wall from sea to shining sea," but also includes cyber, election and climate security in the modern era.

A question about the mayor's thoughts on Alzheimer's disease and dementia prompted him to speak about health care.

"We need to have a system that can take care of everyone," Buttigieg said. "We need a more equitable health care system overall."

The 37-year-old Democrat announced in late January he was forming an exploratory committee for a 2020 presidential bid. Buttigieg was voted to be the mayor of South Bend, Indiana in 2011 at the age of 29, which made him the youngest mayor of a U.S. city with a population of at least 100,000.

Buttigieg appeared on stage at 8 a.m. at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics in Manchester, New Hampshire.

The very things that made our communities and our country great in the past was the fact that our forebears kept their eyes focused squarely on the future.

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