A New York Times journalist challenged Buttigieg on his work at McKinsey. Buttigieg called the premise 'bulls--t.'


Pete Buttigieg's interview with The New York Times got a little bumpy.
The former South Bend, Indiana, mayor sat down with the Times as part of the outlet's series on Democratic presidential candidates. Buttigieg's interview largely went as one would expect — he defended his choice to work at McKinsey, argued he could rally support from black voters, and outlined his stance on issues ranging from climate change to abortion.
But things got a little tense when one Times editorial board member asserted Buttigieg had "been on the front lines of corporate price fixing" by way of his consulting for Loblaws grocery stores while at McKinsey. Loblaws later admitted it had been fixing prices on bread for years.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

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.
"Whoa, whoa whoa, that's, that's, I'm sorry, that's —" said Buttigieg in response to the claim. "The proposition that I've been on front lines of corporate price fixing is bullshit. Just to get that out of the way."
"You worked for a company that was fixing bread prices," said the Times board member, Binyamin Appelbaum. "No, I worked for a consulting company that had a client that may have been involved in fixing or was apparently in a scandal. I was not aware of the Canadian bread pricing scandal until last night," he responded.
The conversation hit another snag when a Times writer said Buttigieg used to support abolishing the Electoral College, but hasn't talked about it in a while.
"So, that's false, and I reject any reporting, some of which I've seen, I believe some of it coming from this building, that suggests that I backed away from it," said the former mayor. "I talk about it in virtually every stump speech that I give."
For his final curveball question, Buttigieg was asked what he's "most likely to fail at" as president. His answer? He "might get canceled" by haters on Twitter. Read the full interview at The New York Times.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Summer Meza has worked at The Week since 2018, serving as a staff writer, a news writer and currently the deputy editor. As a proud news generalist, she edits everything from political punditry and science news to personal finance advice and film reviews. Summer has previously written for Newsweek and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, covering national politics, transportation and the cannabis industry.
-
Citizenship: Trump order blocked again
Feature After the Supreme Court restricted nationwide injunctions, a federal judge turned to a class action suit to block Trump's order to end birthright citizenship
-
Loyalty tests: The purge at the FBI
Feature Kash Patel is conducting polygraph tests on FBI agents to weed out anyone speaking badly about him
-
The all-seeing tech giant
Feature Palantir's data-mining tools are used by spies and the military. Are they now being turned on Americans?
-
Japan's prime minister feels pressure after election losses
Speed Read Shigeru Ishiba has vowed to remain in office
-
President diagnosed with 'chronic venous insufficiency'
Speed Read The vein disorder has given Trump swollen ankles and visible bruising on his hands
-
'Bawdy' Trump letter supercharges Epstein scandal
Speed Read The Wall Street Journal published details of Trump's alleged birthday letter to Epstein
-
Fed chair Powell in Trump's firing line
Speed Read The president considers removing Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell
-
Trump trashes supporters over Epstein files
speed read The president lashed out on social media following criticism of his administration's Jeffrey Epstein investigation
-
Judge nixes wiping medical debt from credit checks
Speed Read Medical debt can now be included in credit reports
-
Grijalva wins Democratic special primary for Arizona
Speed Read She will go up against Republican nominee Daniel Butierez to fill the US House seat her father held until his death earlier this year
-
US inflation jumps as Trump tariffs 'bite'
Speed Read Consumer prices are climbing and the inflation rate rose to its highest level in four months