Buttigieg: 'Era in Which the National Security Vote Was a Republican Vote Has Come to an End'

Former candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination Pete Buttigieg (D-IN) reacted to The Atlantic article claiming President Donald Trump said Americans who died in war were “losers” and “suckers.”

Friday on MSNBC’s “Deadline,” Buttigieg said, “This is what the Republican Party has become. It is one reason why so many Republicans have left the party. I have never seen a DNC with so many Republicans saying I am going to vote for your Democratic candidate or an RNC with so many people missing. Those who have continued to ride this tiger, it will eat them sooner or later. The longer they stay on it, the more they will have to answer for it one day. If you are a conservative because you believe in military tradition or national security, much as those who are conservative because they grew up in the church believing that being a person of faith they had to be conservative, watching this president’s conduct and action and words blows up all of that. Now there is a very simple choice. Even if you are never going to leave the Republican Party, do you want to be remembered as a Donald Trump kind of Republican or a John McCain kind of Republican? ”

He continued, “There are a lot of people in the military thinking, ‘Wow, the president has more consistently shown regard for Vladimir Putin than for me.’ Now again, some habits are really deeply ingrained and die hard, and if you grew up in an area where voting Republican was just what you do or a family that associated national security with being Republican, I understand why those habits are hard to shake. But I also think that as of right now, the era in which the national security vote was a Republican vote has come to an end. A lot of people will be deciding for themselves and deciding differently come November.”

Anchor Nicolle Wallace said, “I can’t agree with you more about that national security voter.”

She added, “When national security is at issue in the final weeks and months of the campaign, it usually serves the person who people trust more. You can’t imagine it would be Donald Trump in any scenario in this cycle.”

Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN