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Pete Buttigieg explains his theory of political change

The South Bend mayor turned 2020 hopeful talked to Ezra Klein about how being a mayor has prepared him for national office and his vision for the country.

Democratic Presidential Candidate Pete Buttigieg Addresses The Commonwealth Club Of San Fransisco
Democratic Presidential Candidate Pete Buttigieg Addresses The Commonwealth Club Of San Fransisco
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Pete Buttigieg is a Rhodes scholar, a Navy veteran, and the mayor of South Bend, Indiana. He’s a married gay man, a churchgoing Episcopalian, and a proud millennial. He’s also, according to CNN, “the hottest candidate in the 2020 race right now.”

Buttigieg has become a surprising standout in the 2020 Democratic field. He joined The Ezra Klein Show to talk about the structural issues plaguing US politics, how being a mayor has prepared him for national office, and his vision for the country.

“We’ve really hit a different moment in our political trajectory, where we are so paralyzed in our ability to address anything — from wages to the climate to you name it — by the dysfunction in our system that it’s time to tend to our system,” Buttigieg said.

Listen to the full interview and subscribe to The Ezra Klein Show on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts:

Learn more:

Pete Buttigieg makes the case for “democratic capitalism” (Zack Beauchamp, Vox)

Pete Buttigieg announces his 2020 presidential campaign (Matt Yglesias, Vox)

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