Speakers address protesters during South Bend “No Kings 2” protest against Trump
NAACP South Bend President Trina Robinson and Michiana Alliance for Democracy organizer Carrie Bowie address the crowd during South Bend’s “No Kings 2” protest on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025.
- Pete Buttigieg spoke at the University of Notre Dame about advancing the pro-democracy movement.
- He encourages citizens to participate in rallies and contact their representatives to create change.
- Buttigieg has been hosting town halls since his tenure as transportation secretary ended in January 2025.
- He stated that Americans should be ready to reform the democratic system if it is not delivering results.
SOUTH BEND — Pete Buttigieg spoke about the efforts required of him and regular citizens to further advance the pro-democracy movement during an exclusive one-on-one interview with The Tribune following his Friday, Jan. 23, appearance at the University of Notre Dame.
“The most important thing for citizens is not to underestimate your own power,” he said. “Sometimes something like participating in a march or rally or calling your member of Congress can sound quaint.”
The former U.S. secretary of transportation and former mayor of South Bend, Buttigieg spoke for more than an hour Friday with Mary Gallagher, global affairs professor and dean of the Keough School of Global Affairs, at a fireside chat titled “Leadership, Innovation, and the Next Generation.”
Since the end of the Biden administration and his tenure as transportation secretary in January 2025, Buttigieg has been traveling and hosting town halls in an effort to further advance the pro-democracy movement, often in congressional districts where elected representatives have not. He aims to find places and people who haven’t heard the message he believes should be out there.
“There’s a reason why some members of Congress won’t even have town halls anymore, and there’s evidence from around the world and all through history that when enough people take to the streets, things begin to change,” he told The Tribune backstage in a private room in DeBartolo.
Buttigieg, who rose to national prominence when he ran for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, appeared calm, thoughtful and slightly reserved as he spoke during the interview, a half-eaten chocolate chip cookie by his side.
Buttigieg used the No Kings events as an example that, he said, make a big difference. The nationwide protests in June and October 2025 each drew millions of people, including more than 4,000 attendees at each of the ones held in South Bend.
“Americans want a different path,” Buttigieg said. “I think being a part of things that are constructive, whether it’s close to home and building and growing things, like what I see so much of in South Bend, or more broadly, for the national picture, leading the conversation about what kind of government we want, not just the kind of government we don’t want, is going to be really important.”
‘Be ready to reform’ democracy
As he travels the country hosting town halls, initiating conversations and laying footwork for protecting democracy, he said, Americans should be ready to reform America’s democratic system.
“America’s democratic system didn’t prevail just because. They prevailed because it led to better everyday results,” Buttigieg said. “And if it’s not doing that, we need to be ready to reform it.
“We can’t throw it out, because it’s very clear that when people live in countries where leaders can ignore rules or dominate people through intimidation, everyone winds up worse off.”
Buttigieg said there are things that all Americans should care about regardless of our political affiliations that depend on the country’s leaders listening, such as being able to afford a home or being able to get healthcare.
“All of us should want to live in a system where our leaders have to listen to us, and that’s called democracy,” he said.
According to Buttigieg, his strategy to further advance the pro-democratic movement is by amplifying leaders and causes he believes in.
“In order to advance the values we believe in, especially at a time like this where people’s everyday lives are sometimes slipping away from them, and I think these big values questions are connected to these basic delivery questions … what would it be like to live in a country where you knew your government could take care of the basics?” Buttigieg said.
As enormous waves of political news from the Trump administration come out at rapid speeds, Buttigieg says that having loved ones to keep you grounded and honest makes a big difference as well as being in touch with your own values as part of your story.
“My big message to people who support (Trump) is that he doesn’t deserve you, but my message to people who already agree with me is we need to picture what comes next,” he said. “He will not be in charge of this country forever.
“The sooner we can explain what we would do if we got the chance, I think the sooner that day will come.”
Email Tribune staff writer Juliane Balog at [email protected].
