Pete Buttigieg asserts the 'socialist' attack has 'lost all power' for conservatives

Pete Buttigieg thinks socialism has lost its bite — and that's a good thing.

The rising 2020 star appeared Thursday on Good Morning America, where host George Stephanopoulos asked him about a common term President Trump and other conservatives have been using as an insult. While Buttigieg stopped short of saying he identified with socialism, he did applaud how unlike in "the darkest days of the '50s," you can't "use the word 'socialist' to kill somebody's career or to kill an idea" anymore.

The topic arose because when the South Bend, Indiana mayor was 18, he wrote an essay praising Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), then a representative, for proudly calling himself a "socialist." Trump is still trying to use that term as a takedown today, Buttigieg said, but he added that it's now "losing all meaning." Voters today, "especially in my generation ... just want to know if an idea is a good idea or not," Buttigieg said. He also claimed "the Affordable Care Act was a conservative idea that Democrats borrowed, and they called that socialist," invoking a liberal belief that pieces of ObamaCare stemmed from the conservative Heritage Foundation.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Buttigieg also tackled former Vice President Joe Biden's non-apology for allegations of inappropriate touching, and why he thinks his mayoral experience gives him a presidential edge. Watch the whole interview below. Kathryn Krawczyk