A Fox News reporter tried to corner Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg by showing him a post his husband Chasten Buttigieg made about pro-choice protestors outside a restaurant where Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh was dining.
The Fox reporter said: "Your husband tweeted after Justice Brett Kavanaugh left a Washington restaurant due to protesters. The tweet reads 'Sounds like he just wanted some privacy to make his own dining decisions.' Is that appropriate, sir?"
Buttigieg replied:
Look, when public officials go into public life, we should expect two things. One, you should always be free from violence, harassment, and intimidation. And two, you're never going to be free from criticism or peaceful protests, people exercising their First Amendment rights. That's what happened in this case. Remember, the justice never even came into contact with these protesters they reportedly didn't see or hear them. And these protesters are upset, because a right, an important right, that the majority of Americans support was taken away, not only the right to choose, by the way, but but this justice was part of the process of stripping away the right to privacy. As long as I've been alive, [unintelligible] law in the United States has been that the Constitution protected a right to privacy, and that has now been thrown out the window by justices, including Justice Kavanaugh, who, as I recall, swore up and down in front of God and everyone, including the United States Congress, that they were going to leave settled case law alone. So yes, people are upset. They're going to exercise their First Amendment rights. And as long as that's peaceful, that's protected. Compare that for example, to the reality that as a country right now, we're reckoning with the fact that a mob, summoned by the former president of the United States Capitol for the purpose of overthrowing the election, and very nearly succeeded in preventing the peaceful transfer of power. I think common sense can tell the difference.
The reporter made one last half-hearted attempt to throw Buttigieg off course:
But as a high profile public figure, sir, are you comfortable with protesters protesting when you and your husband go to dinner at a restaurant?
Buttigieg:
Protesting peacefully outside in a public space? Sure. Look, I can't even tell you the number of spaces, venues, and scenarios where I've been protested. And the bottom line is this: any public figure should always always be free from violence, intimidation and harassment, but should never be free from criticism, or people exercising their First Amendment rights.
