FOX News Channel has announced it will present a town hall with 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, on Sunday, May 19.
It will be moderated by FOX News Sunday’s Chris Wallace. The town hall will take place live from 7-8PM/ET in Claremont, NH and focus on the top issues facing voters.
Today Buttigieg released a statement about why he is going on Fox. You can read it below:
There’s been a lot of debate recently about whether Democratic presidential candidates should go on Fox News. Tomorrow night, I’ll be participating in a Fox News town hall with Chris Wallace, and I want to tell you why.
First, let me be clear: I strongly condemn the voices on Fox and in the media that uncritically amplify hate and the divisive sort of politics that gave rise to this presidency. Their goal is to spread fear and lies, not serve as honest brokers with the American people.
But just because many of these opinion hosts don’t operate in good faith, it doesn’t mean that there aren’t Fox viewers tuning in in good faith. If we unilaterally decide that they shouldn’t hear my or other Democrats’ messages, then we shouldn’t act surprised if they have a distorted view of what we believe and who we are.
If we ignore the viewers of Fox News and every news platform that doesn’t share our worldview, we will surrender our ability to speak directly to millions of American voters. If we don’t show up, the conservative media will tell our side of the story for us. They will continue to fully claim American values like freedom, security, and democracy as property of the GOP.
From the beginning of this campaign, I’ve said that I would meet voters where they are. And that means sometimes moving beyond the echo chamber of like-minded voices. Because this primary season is not just about winning the Democratic nomination, or even just winning in 2020—it’s about reclaiming our values and winning an era.