Tipsheet

What Did Pete Buttgieg Just Say About Adopting Non-White Kids?

Matt Vespa
Matt Vespa  |  April 24, 2025 3:18 PM

Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg had an awkward slip of the tongue. It was that or he tried to be fast and loose with Andrew Schulz and company when discussing his family, claiming that adopting black kids comes at a discount. He quickly clarified before saying there was no deposit. The former mayor and 2020 presidential candidate, along with his husband, have adopted fraternal twins, which is how this topic came up, along with a lecture about race in America.

I’m adopted, and I have two white parents—this ‘how do I raise my kids that are racially different than me’ bulls**t never came up. And when you focus on that, which is what all Democrats do because they’re race-obsessed, you end up being cringy, getting offended about everything, and flat-out saying some pretty offensive stuff, like ‘them black kiddos come at a discount because America—bad, or something.’ 

The best part is that the man said that Democrats need to do less finger-waving and more voter outreach. As Leigh Wolf noted, saying you can get kids at a discount is an odd way of putting that electoral exercise into practice (via Fox News): 

On Wednesday’s episode of his podcast "Flagrant," comedian Andrew Schulz praised Buttigieg for being able to acknowledge how voters feel, "instead of this, like, finger-wagging approach, which is, ‘You’re stupid if you don’t agree with me.’" 

As they discussed tariffs and the decline of American manufacturing, co-host Akaash Singh asked Buttigieg whether he is frustrated with the Democratic Party focusing on "identity politics" rather than "people who can’t afford to feed their families and are losing jobs."

[…] 

Buttigieg warned about how easy it is historically for people on either side of politics to "get this sense of, like, moral conviction, and you're so sure of it that you start to think it makes it OK to be an a--hole." 

Pete, you thought our roads were racist. I think you need to go away and let someone else do the talking.