Politics

Buttigieg Says He Won’t Be ‘Lectured On Family Values’ By Rush Limbaugh Or Trump Supporters

Pete Buttigieg CC BY 3.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PeteButtigieg_(1).JPG

2020 Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg said Sunday that he will not be “lectured on family values” by the likes of radio host Rush Limbaugh or Trump supporters.

The former South Bend, Indiana, mayor spoke on “Fox News Sunday” with anchor Chris Wallace, who brought up separate comments Limbaugh and “America First” host Sebastian Gorka made on Feb. 12 about Buttigieg’s stances on abortion and electability.

“A gay guy, 37 years old, loves kissing his husband on debate stages. Can you see [President Donald] Trump have fun with that?” Limbaugh asked, while Gorka questioned, “Why is a homosexual man lecturing us about the sanctity of life in the womb? Just a little curious there, strange.”

“What is your reaction to those comments?” Wallace asked Buttigieg.

The gay presidential candidate responded: “I am in a faithful, loving, committed marriage. I’m proud of my marriage, and I’m proud of my husband.”

He added:

And I’m not going to be lectured on family values from the likes of Rush Limbaugh or anybody who supports Donald J. Trump as the moral as well as political leader of the United States. America has moved on, and we should have politics of belonging that welcomes everybody. That’s what the American people are for. And I am saddened for what the Republican Party has become if they embrace that kind of homophobic rhetoric.

Buttigieg also commented on whether Americans would vote for a gay presidential candidate and noted that he came out as gay while Vice President Mike Pence was governor of Indiana.

“We didn’t know what would happen. I’ll tell you what happened,” he said.

“I got reelected with 80% of the vote in my generally Democratic but socially conservative community, more than I had the first time that I ran for office,” he continued, adding:

“When it comes to LGBTQ issues … the most important thing is not the treatment of candidates, it’s what’s happening to individuals and families across the country from brave service members who have their careers threatened by this president.”