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The Democratic presidential candidate, Pete Buttigieg, answers questions from journalist Robert Costa during a discussion at the Washington Post Live on Thursday. (Win Mcnamee / Getty Images)
John Wagner
National journalist heads the political press team at The Post newspaper
The Democratic presidential hopeful, Pete Buttigieg, said Thursday that he found "disgusting" that President Trump is considering forgiving several US servicemen accused or convicted of war crimes.
Buttigieg, mayor of South Bend, Indiana, who served in Afghanistan as an officer of the Naval Reserve Intelligence Services, said at an appearance at a Washington Post Live event that such pardons would undermine the reputation of the US Army abroad and make his troops less safe.
"I think it's disgusting," Buttigieg said, stressing the importance of preserving the credibility of the US military justice system. "If the president makes a hole in it, he blows a hole in the army and puts his life in danger."
Buttigieg said that during his military service, "the flag on my shoulder represented a country that kept its word. . . . If we lose that, nothing will protect us.
[In Fox News town hall, Buttigieg calls out Tucker Carlson, Laura Ingraham as ‘not always there in good faith’]
Several recent reports have indicated that Trump was planning to speed up the pardon of military members in order to exercise his power around Memorial Day.
Buttigieg's military service was mentioned several times during a large interview with Robert Costa of The Post.
Buttigieg, 37, the youngest Democratic presidential candidate, spoke of his military service when he tried to say he could face Trump.
"I have no problem dealing with anyone who was working on season 7 of" Celebrity Apprentice "when I was packing for Afghanistan," Buttigieg said, citing the previous series NBC reality TV show.
Buttigieg said that he thought Trump claimed to have a disability to avoid military service in Vietnam.
"I think that's exactly what he did," said Buttigieg questioned by Costa.
Trump said he received a medical adjournment in 1968 because he had bone spurs in his feet.
The New York Times reported at the end of last year that the daughters of a deceased podiatrist had stated that it was "a family tradition" that their father was providing the diagnosis as a favor to Trump's father, who owned of the building in which the podiatrist was exercising.
Buttigieg said the problem "deserves to be talked about".
During the interview, Buttigieg was separated from Trump on the question of whether NFL players should be allowed to kneel during the National Anthem. Trump has repeatedly decried this practice, saying it is disrespectful to the US flag and military.
Asked about his opinion as a member of the military service, Buttigieg said, "I thought I saw the Americans exercising a right that I had put my life in danger to defend."
Players who started practice in 2016 stated that they were protesting against racial injustice.
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