Vice President Mike Pence on Wednesday broke his silence on repeated attacks from Democrat 2020 presidential contender Pete Buttigieg, telling CNBC’s Squawk Box that the South Bend Mayor “knows better” than to attack his Christian faith.
A transcript is as follows:
JOE KERNEN: In the news the last couple of days, you’ve got Mayor Pete Buttigieg is invoking your name to, I guess, highlight a conservative push back to certain LBGT ideas or marriage equality and the like. Is that fair to use you as the boogeyman in terms of to point at you, and would you like to respond? I don’t know if you’ve responded yet.
VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE: Well, look, I worked very closely with Mayor Pete when I was governor of the state of Indiana. We had a great working relationship. And he said some things that are critical of my Christian faith and about me personally, and he knows better. He knows me. But I get. You know, it’s — look, they got 19 people running for president on that side —
KERNEN: Have you evolved at all —
PENCE: — in a party that is sliding off to the left —
KERNEN: I agree.
PENCE: And they’re all competing with one another for how much more liberal they are than the other. So, I get that.
KERNEN: But, Mr. Vice President, since the year 2000, have you — the country has evolved, to some extent, I think, on marriage equality, on gay rights. Have you — would you say your views have evolved at all since then?
PENCE: Look, the Supreme Court has made their decision.
KERNEN: So you accept it as law?
PENCE: And when I was governor of Indiana, we fully implemented that decision in the law. But, Joe, I have my Christian values. My family and I have a view of marriage that’s informed by our faith. And we stand by that. But that doesn’t mean that we’re critical of anyone else who has a different point of view.