Pete Buttigieg: Americans Eating Burgers and Drinking from Straws Are ‘Part of the Problem’

Mayor Pete Buttigieg said Thursday that Americans eating burgers and drinking from straws are “part of the problem” of causing climate change.

The South Bend, Indiana, mayor spoke about climate change in an interview with CNN the morning after participating in the CNN town hall on Wednesday night.

“Right now, we’re in a mood where we’re thinking about it mostly through the perspective of guilt–you know, from using a straw to eating a burger. ‘Am I part of the problem?’ In a certain way, yes,” he said during an interview with CNN’s Alisyn Camerota. “But the most exciting thing is that we can all be part of the solution.”

Buttigieg’s remarks were quickly highlighted by the Republican National Committee rapid response team:

Buttigieg acknowledged that many Americans were overwhelmed by “guilt” from their impact on climate and urged everyone in the private and public sectors to come together to stop global warming.

“Then, instead of our main emotion around climate being guilt, it could be pride because if we get this right, we’ll be proud of how we changed the path of this country and this planet before it was too late,” he said.

Buttigieg said that during his presidency, he would do more to use the government and the military to redirect resources towards clean energy.