-My next guest is the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana,
a New York Times best-selling author, and the nominee
for United States Secretary of Transportation.
It's my pleasure to welcome back to the show
Mayor Pete Buttigieg!
Hey, Mayor Pete, thank you so much
for being on our show and coming back.
You're in Washington, D.C., right now
because you attended the --
President Biden's inauguration today.
You were the first person I saw this morning to enter almost.
How did it feel to be there?
-You know, it was amazing.
It was moving.
It was reassuring to be on those Capitol steps
where just two weeks earlier,
we'd seen those horrifying images
of a mob seeking to take over the Capitol.
What we saw today was one of the most important
and oldest rituals in American democracy,
that transfer of power.
And I think for a lot of us,
things that maybe we used to think of as boring
or take for granted, you know, on a day like this,
at a time like this, actually meant a lot,
that there was that -- that continuity.
The president, I thought, gave a great speech.
There were these musical performances,
Garth Brooks, J.Lo, Gaga,
and also this amazing poet, Amanda Gorman,
who really set the tone for the day.
So it was a great day.
-She was amazing.
I saw when you first --
You were one of the first people to get there,
and I know you probably can't,
being where you are and your stature,
but I couldn't help but get emotional watching everything.
Just even everyone just coming,
the way that the Capitol was decorated,
it made me so patriotic and so proud,
and just seeing the flag flying,
and I go yes. It made me so -- It was like, I felt like
I was, you know, in a George M. Cohan song or something.
-Yeah, you know, I didn't used to care about symbols so much.
especially when I was first getting involved
in public service when I was mayor.
I cared about policy. I cared about getting things done,
and events didn't mean as much to me.
But I think just with everything we've been through as a country,
we realize that those symbols matters.
The continuity of it matters,
the kind of process that we go through,
because it reminds us of the stability of the country.
It reminds us what we're trying to protect
when we protect American democracy.
-What do you think is next for President Biden
and how he's going to get the country to unite?
-Well, I think we saw in his speech
that he's calling out to everybody.
He's making clear he wants to be a president for everyone,
whether you voted for him or not.
But I think in the long run, the best way to unite the country
will be to deliver results.
I know that's gonna be his focus.
The best way I think to bring people together is to make sure
that life in this country gets better,
that our economy is strong,
that there's safety, that there's justice and equity.
And there's a ton of work starting right away,
and it really starts of course with defeating the pandemic.
So it was great that even before the inauguration,
as president-elect, he laid out the first steps of that plan.
Now as president, he's already working to deliver them,
and I'm excited to be part of the team to make that happen.
-I don't know if I'll be able to call you Mayor Pete anymore,
because hopefully, tomorrow you will be confirmed
for the role of Secretary of Transportation.
This is a historic nomination.
You'll be the first Millennial cabinet member,
and you'll also be the first openly gay person
to serve in a cabinet position.
What does that all mean to you,
or have you even thought about it?
-Yeah, it means a lot.
You know, I can remember being in high school
watching on the news
when President Clinton nominated someone to be an ambassador
who didn't even get the chance to get a vote in the Senate
because he was gay.
And it sent a message.
At that age, I hadn't really thought
that I would be serving in public service like I am now,
but it sent a message, you know,
not only that gay people might be denied a chance to serve
but also denied a chance to belong.
So the fact that 20-some years later,
tomorrow, I'll go before a committee
and hopefully receive a vote that will make it possible
once the confirmation vote comes up
to become a confirmed cabinet member --
I just hope that that sends a different, better,
opposite message to some kid who's watching right now,
that you have every right to belong, every right to serve,
every right to be part of this country.
-Four years from now, what do you hope
that you will have accomplished in the role?
-You know, I'd love to be able to look back
on a tenure as secretary and say first of all
that travel was and remains safe for workers and for travelers,
but also above and beyond that,
that America restored its leadership role
when it came to infrastructure.
We've fallen behind. We've been expected to tolerate
roads and bridges falling into disrepair,
passenger rail being way behind what our fellow --
our, you know, counterparts, citizens in other countries
are able to enjoy,
just a lot of things where we've settled for less,
and I think now is a chance to do something about that.
I'd love to look back on these years and say
this was when electric vehicles became much more widely adopted
and the possibilities there
with technology around electric vehicles,
around automated vehicles if we can get the safety part right,
and a whole bunch of other things that are coming
could allow us to say that America became better prepared
for the climate crisis, more just,
and more economically sound
because we did what we had to do when it came to infrastructure.
I know it's seen as kind of a nerdy topic sometimes.
But I think it's one of the most interesting things
that is before the administration right now,
and I'm really excited to do my part.
-Good luck tomorrow, and anything we can do to help --
We'd love to have you back on the show whenever.
Thank you so much for coming on the show.
Mayor Pete Buttigieg.