Mayor Pete Buttigieg criticized President Donald Trump and Christian Republicans for betraying their faith with their policies.
“What I would say is that it’s clear that some naked sins are being at best condoned by people who then summon religious arguments,” Buttigieg said in an interview with Religion News Service.
Buttigieg was sharply critical of Christians in the Trump administration, accusing them of hypocrisy.
“[I]t’s also just seeing the hypocrisy among people who now endorse people and practices that are offensive, not only to my values but to their own,” he said.
Buttigieg touted his own Christian faith as a strength in his presidential campaign, even though he admitted feeling that it was “a little bit countercultural at times.”
“[T]here’s certainly no contradiction to me between being young, being progressive and being Christian,” he said. “I think maybe just providing an example of how that can come about might help others on various sides of these divides realize that we’ve got a common cause here.”
As a Democrat, he explained, he would continue to honor the idea of “separation of church and state” but would use religious values to inspire Americans toward progressive policies.
“Our message is the same for everybody,” he said. “But we might find different relationships and connections to help ensure that message reaches people who maybe have not felt welcomed or spoken to by my party for some time, even though our positions might very well harmonize with their values.”
Throughout his campaign, Buttigieg has used Scripture to shame Christians for supporting President Trump.
“[I]t is flat-out false that Christian faith or any faith compels us to support or condone what is going on in this White House today,” Buttigieg said while addressing the Black Church PAC Presidential Candidate Conversation series earlier in August.
Buttigieg began his campaign attacking Mike Pence as the “cheerleader of the porn star presidency” and suggested that the vice president had abandoned his Christian faith.
“Is it that he stopped believing in Scripture when he started believing in Donald Trump? I don’t know,” he said about Pence.
In April, Buttigieg said it was “unbelievable” that Christians would support Trump, detailing his frustrations with the community.
On the debate stage in July, Buttigieg blasted what he called “so-called” Republican Christians for opposing the minimum wage.