Sec. Buttigieg: I Hope that Americans Can Understand the Difference Between a Pride Flag that Symbolizes Love and Insurrectionist Symbology

BERMAN: “I want to ask you very quickly about another subject too. There was a secret recording made at a meeting where many Supreme Court justices and their spouses were. And Martha-Ann Alito, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, was discussing how she feels about apparently a Pride flag that was flown not far from her house. Listen.”
[Clip starts]
M. Alito: “I want a Sacred Heart of Jesus flag because I had to look across the lagoon at the Pride flag for the next month.”
WINDSOR: “Exactly.”
M. Alito: “And — and he’s like, ‘Oh, please don’t put up a flag.’ I said, ‘I won’t do it because I’m deferring to you. But when you are free of this nonsense, I’m putting it up and I’m going to send them a message every day.”
[Clip ends]
BERMAN: “How does that make you feel knowing that the wife of a Supreme Court justice wants to send a message to people with a Pride flag?”
Buttigieg: “Look, I’m often reminded that the most important thing in my life, which is my marriage, and my family, and — and the two beautiful children that my husband Chasten and I are raising that that marriage only exists by the grace of a single vote on the United States Supreme Court that expanded our rights and freedoms back in 2015 and made it possible for somebody like me to get married. And, you know, Supreme Court justices have an unbelievable amount of power. And — and, you know, by the nature and the structure of the Supreme Court, there’s no supervision over that power. They are entrusted with it literally for as long as they live. And part of that trust is we expect them to enter into those enormously consequential decisions that — that shape our everyday lives with a sense of fairness. I also hope that most Americans can understand the difference between a flag that symbolizes you know, love and acceptance and signals to people who have sometimes feared for their safety that they’re going to be OK and insurrectionist’s symbology. I’ll just leave it at that.”
BERMAN: “Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, thank you so much for being with this morning. Appreciate it.”