The Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, collapsed after being struck by a container ship early Tuesday morning. Two people were rescued and six are presumed dead.
President Joe Biden and other officials, like Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, issued statements in the hours after the collapse. The White House has pledged federal support to rebuild the bridge.
A video clip of Buttigieg posted on multiple social media platforms, shows the transportation secretary speaking at a press conference with text on screen that claims, “Pete Buttigieg says Francis Scott Key Bridge was racist.”
A version of the post on X says, “Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is taking zero blame for the accident today that occurred in Baltimore at the Francis Scott Key Bridge. Instead, he is blaming those that constructed the bridge saying it was designed with racism, just like racist bridges in New York.”
People commenting on the videos expressed shock that Buttigieg would make such comments after the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse.
THE QUESTION
Did Pete Buttigieg say the design of the Francis Scott Key Bridge was racist?
THE SOURCES
- Original video posted by The White House on Nov. 8, 2021
- InVid and RevEye, video forensics tools
THE ANSWER
No, Pete Buttigieg didn’t say the design of the Francis Scott Key Bridge was racist. The video shows Buttigieg talking about systemic racism and highway design at a press conference at the White House in November 2021. He never mentioned the Francis Scott Key Bridge in the video clip.
WHAT WE FOUND
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg didn’t say the design of the Francis Scott Key Bridge was racist. In the old video, Buttigieg talks about how the design of an underpass in New York “obviously reflects racism.” The video being shared is from a press conference in November 2021 to announce the launch of a pilot program supporting racial equity in road design. He makes no mention of the Francis Scott Key bridge in the video.
During the Nov. 8, 2021 press conference, Buttigieg discussed the Reconnecting Communities program, which is a $1 billion pilot program aimed at helping reconnect cities and neighborhoods that were racially segregated or divided by road projects.
“I'm still surprised that some people were surprised when I pointed to the fact that if a highway was built for the purpose of dividing a white and a Black neighborhood, or if an underpass was constructed such that a bus carrying mostly Black and Puerto Rican kids to a beach, or that would have been, in New York was designed too low for it to pass by, that that obviously reflects racism that went into those design choices. I don't think we have anything to lose by confronting that simple reality. And I think we have everything to gain by acknowledging it and then dealing with it, which is why the Reconnecting Communities, that billion dollars, is something we want to get to work right away putting to work,” Buttigieg says.
When he was actually speaking from Baltimore on March 26, Buttigieg never mentioned race but did focus on expressing the full support of the federal government in rebuilding the Francis Scott Key Bridge. Speaking from The White House on Wednesday, March 27, Buttigieg spoke about the mobilized efforts to help the port of Baltimore recover.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
This story is also available in Spanish / Lee este artículo también en español: No, Pete Buttigieg no dijo que el puente Francis Scott Key era racista
The VERIFY team works to separate fact from fiction so that you can understand what is true and false. Please consider subscribing to our daily newsletter, text alerts and our YouTube channel. You can also follow us on Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. Learn More »