Buttigieg: Mike Pence ‘Advances Homophobic Policies’

Friday on “The Hugh Hewitt Show,” 2020 Democratic presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg addressed Vice President Mike Pence, who is an evangelical Christian.

Host Hugh Hewitt asked Buttigieg if he actually thinks Pence, former governor for Indiana where Buttigieg has served as mayor of South Bend, is “homophobic.”

Buttigieg would not accuse Pence of being homophobic, but did say he “advances homophobic policies.”

“He advances homophobic policies. I don’t know what’s in his heart,” Buttigieg responded. “He’s always been polite to me in person. But you look at the fact that he, to this day, cannot bring himself to say that it shouldn’t be legal to discriminate against people who are gay, or that I should have been allowed to serve and put my life on the line in the military, as I was, even though he said very nice things about my service. He has not brought himself to reverse his position on firing military members who are gay. He certainly doesn’t seem to have objected to the way that troops who are transgender are being treated in this administration.”

He continued, “And he hasn’t even gone on the record to say whether he believes that my family should be broken up or my marriage should be ended or not. So you know, if you’re in public office and you advance homophobic policies, on some level it doesn’t matter whether you do that out of political calculation or whether you do it out of sincere belief. The problem is it’s hurting other people.”

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