Pete Buttigieg

The other way to look at it is consider the civilizational achievement that is aviation safety in this country.

So it's easy to grumble.

So it's easy to grumble.

And I grumble and more than grumble.

And I grumble and more than grumble.

I mean, I got pretty upset with a lot of things about how aviation works as a passenger, which is why we push airlines so hard on passenger protections.

I mean, I got pretty upset with a lot of things about how aviation works as a passenger, which is why we push airlines so hard on passenger protections.

But, you know, just in the four years I was secretary...

But, you know, just in the four years I was secretary...

We had about 4 billion passenger employments.

We had about 4 billion passenger employments.

So 4 billion times somebody got on an airplane, right?

So 4 billion times somebody got on an airplane, right?

And zero commercial airline crash fatalities out of that 4 billion.

And zero commercial airline crash fatalities out of that 4 billion.

In other words, what this kind of clunky, imperfect federal government has achieved

In other words, what this kind of clunky, imperfect federal government has achieved

is a standard of safety on a form of transportation that involves being propelled through the air almost at the speed of sound by flammable liquids miles above the ground.

is a standard of safety on a form of transportation that involves being propelled through the air almost at the speed of sound by flammable liquids miles above the ground.

And frankly, you and I are, one of us is more likely, not to be flip about it, but one of us is more likely to randomly die of natural causes during this taping than to be involved in a commercial airline fatality.