South Bend Scandal

My Fellow Americans,

Yesterday, the New York Times published a story alleging that I coached the men’s basketball team at Butler University while serving as Mayor of South Bend, Indiana. 

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These allegations are true. To be exact, I coached the team in my final year of campaigning for Mayor and during my first year of service. And if, after this address, the American people believe me to be corrupt and my administration an accessory to an unforgivable crime, I will understand if Congress impeaches me on those grounds. 

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But first, I’d like to defend my actions, which I do not apologize for. I am proud of my performance as both Mayor and coach, and I don’t think what happened constitutes an impeachable offense. 

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My most important work during that time, of course, was as Mayor. As has been the case in every political office I’ve held, I did my best to represent all constituents, not just those who voted for me, and used my power sparingly but efficiently. Neither my political philosophy nor political goals were compromised when I worked as both Mayor and coach. 

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Of all the achievements in my first term, I am most proud of my urban development reforms. I broke new ground on a technology park that will host nanoelectronics research powered by the University of Notre Dame. I welcomed two new condominiums to open along the beautiful St. Joseph river. I launched a program to repair or demolish blighted homes that would improve the quality of life for new South Bend families. 

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I believe my success in these simultaneous roles should increase your confidence in my leadership as I embark on my first Presidential term. Many Americans have long been wary — with good reason — of the growing power of my office. In the last century, Presidents have claimed access to power they say comes with the office, yet is found nowhere in the Constitution, abused their limited powers as Commander in Chief, and altered laws illegally with executive orders and signing statements. There is now a wealth of precedent on which future Presidents can base unconstitutional actions.

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I can assure you that I am not interested in taking advantage of that precedent or adding to it, and unlike recent candidates who have claimed the same, you can believe my word on that. As Mayor and coach, I had to delegate tasks — and that’s how I liked it. My administration’s work was better for it. Whether I was cooperating with the private sector or staffing out work to South Bend bureaucrats, I was confident in the abilities of my professional partners to get the job done. I had to be confident — I simply didn’t have the time, given my other job, to micromanage everyone’s performance. This method of delegation worked successfully for me, especially on the blighted home project, which concluded well ahead of schedule, completely out of my hands.

 

Delegation continued in my second year as Mayor when I was called upon to serve in Afghanistan with the United States Navy. While I had to quit my coaching job to serve abroad, I knew that I would be leaving South Bend in the capable hands of Deputy Mayor Mark Neal. Mayor Neal led commendably for those seven months, allowing me to focus completely on my missions with the Navy. 

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Of course, there were times that I took unilateral action, but these were times when the issue at hand actually required the power vested in me as Mayor to be resolved. My arguments against the passage of state legislation that I felt sacrificed LGBTQ+ rights in the name of religious freedom resulted in an amendment that protected those rights. No other local official could have used their voice as noticeably or effectively. 

 

You might think my preference for delegation was borne out of necessity. In fact, I’ve preferred to delegate ever since I coached the Butler team the year I was campaigning for Mayor. That was when I learned the hard way that micromanaging a team as talented as mine — or a group as diverse, talented, and capable as the American people — does not lead to success.

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In the National Championship game, we were always behind by a few points against Duke, the more athletic and better-funded team. I wanted Gordon Hayward, Butler’s star guard, to take as many shots as possible down the stretch, and told him so in one of our last timeouts. Hayward got the ball and dribbled around his defender. But when he got close to the basket, he was met by Duke’s center, who abandoned his man to defend against the inevitable shot. The jumper was close, but missed. That was my first attempt, and first failure, at micromanaging. 

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We had the ball again, with three seconds left and no timeouts. Per my instructions, Hayward shot the ball again, this time from half-court — and missed by inches. That was my second failure.

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Nobody blamed me for wanting the ball in the hands of my best player, and nobody blamed him for putting two shots on the rim. But I blame myself for not letting my players trust each other and find the open man instead of following my Hayward-first formula, especially after noticing what a positive impact all of his teammates had in the final minutes. Forward Matt Howard kept us close with four crucial points, and set an important screen that freed Hayward to launch his half-court shot. I should not have drawn up plays that kept the ball out of Howard’s hands, nor should I have drawn up plays that guaranteed Howard a shot. I should have let my players play.

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After the loss, I promised myself that I would not coach or lead in that way again. I promised myself that I would use my unilateral power only when the situation demanded it, and trust others to accomplish their end when the situation did not. Similarly, my Presidential administration will begin a new and much-needed precedent of limited, but focused, executive power put towards our nation’s most pressing causes.

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Finally, I’d like to speak about career specialization. I think my modest success in both fields sends a positive message: that success follows you when you follow your passions, that you can combine what you love and what pays the bills, that you don’t always have to choose one career over another. I play the piano, too, and some of the happiest moments of my life took place in front of the ivories. Future generations may be working in jobs that haven’t yet been imagined, but if my legacy is allowed to stand, they'll know not to be ashamed of pursuing what they love to do. 

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Thank you for hearing me out. Let me be clear: I do not regret having these two jobs, because I am proud of the work I did in each. I do regret any negative impact my brief double life has caused each of you. 

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Now, it is time for me to listen to you. Congress will undoubtedly begin impeachment proceedings. Please, write or call your congresspeople and tell them your opinion. It’s their job to make decisions based on those opinions. 

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No matter the decision that you, the American people, make, as God is my witness, I will continue to try my hardest to make this world a better place than it was when I found it.

Thank you, and goodnight.