As his momentum continues to build in Iowa, South Bend, IN Mayor Pete Buttigieg has addressed an elephant on the political stage: How will homophobic world leaders react to having a gay President in the USA?
Buttigieg’s response: “They’re going to have to get used to it.”
Buttigieg, battling Sens. Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Vice President Joe Biden, ahead of the Iowa Caucas told a town hall group of voters that he isn’t worried about homophobia on the world stage.
Related: Mayor Pete leaps to 3rd place in new Iowa poll
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“One great thing about America is that when we’re at our best, we have challenged places around the world to acknowledge freedom, and include more people in more ways,” Buttigieg said. “Whether it is by policy or just by example, America is at her best when we have done that.”
Buttigieg then pivoted to what he saw as the bigger issue: treatment of queer people in homophobic nations. “The problem, of course, is how people are being treated in those countries,” he explained. “And while we can’t intervene in every country and make them be good to their people, I do believe that one big step forward would be for a country like the United States to be led by somebody that people in those other countries can look to and know that they’re not alone.”
The crowd apparently approoved Buttigieg’s response, as his words triggered thunderous applause that lasted a full 27 seconds.
Buttigieg continues to trail Biden, Warren and Sanders in national polls, generally running about fourth place. In 2012, Fred Karger sought the Republican nomination but failed to qualify for all the primaries. He later ran as a third-party candidate.
And here's the video…
Q: How do you intend to deal with countries like Saudi Arabia and Russia where it's illegal to be gay?@PeteButtigieg: "So they're gonna have to get used to it."
*Crowd applauds for 27 seconds. pic.twitter.com/7Vjer01ni0
— Justin Gomez (@JustinGomezABC) November 3, 2019
Clarification: An earlier version of this story failed to mention that openly gay Fred Karger sought the GOP presidential nomination. Buttigieg is the first credible openly gay presidential candidate but not the first.
Calabashe
Buttigieg is the most intelligent & articulate of the bunch but at least one important voting block has a problem with Mayor Pete’s personal life. I suspect Biden will get the nomination. Hope he taps Pete for the VP job. Such would speak to the future.
cliche guevara
If Biden, Sanders or Buttigieg wins they aren’t aren’t going to pick a white guy as their VP. Biden has said he would pick a woman or person of color and Sanders has said he would pick a woman. I don’t think Buttigieg has said but it would be a tactical blunder to not do it. If he were to be a VP pick it would be for Warren, assuming he would even consider the VP role. I could see her picking him up as she would look for someone more moderate that connected with midwestern voters.
djmcgamester
Tulsi was the best option. Too bad she was smeared.
Kangol2
@djmcgamester, Tulsi “was the best option”? You mean the woman who’s defended the butcher Assad and is a fave of Putin “was the best option”? WTF? Wasn’t Drumpf enough of a foreign puppet/agent for you?
Ronbo
@Kangol2
Look in the mirror for the person doing the smearing. Are you aware that meeting with Assad is not the same as “supporting” him? If what you repeat were true, a lot of judges ‘support’ a lot of criminals. Even Obama met with Putin, while Tulsi has not.
Think for yourself, don’t just repeat what you are told. Otherwise, are you are going to repeat Hillary Clinton circa 2006 “marriage is ONLY between one man and one woman”?
I suggest that you go back to school to improve your critical thinking skills… they have slipped down to tRumpish levels.
Aromaeus
Also stop peddling the lie that black voters have a problem with him because he’s gay. They have a problem with him because he does no outreach and his history with black constituents in south bend is ATROCIOUS!!! Seriously look into the scandal with the black police chief he fired after being pressured by racist donors.
evanxx
@djmcgamester and @Ronbo – Unless you have lived in Hawaii, you are totally clueless about all of Tulsi’s sinister conduct, from promoting conversion therapy while serving in our State Legislature to picketing and smearing the LGBT community here. She is still a member of a local demonic, homophobic CULT based in Hawaii; she is NOT Hindu as she claims. She is involved with hostile foreign governments who illegally finance her campaign. Research for yourself, don’t just repeat what you are told by her campaign propaganda.
Paco
I wish Mayor Pete would get the nomination.
Trump and his cult will make sure this election season is a nasty one and their unadulterated homophobia would be guaranteed to be on full display for the world to see. There would be no more pretense about what they are all really about and it would finally be a reckoning for the gay Republicans when they have to defend it.
JaredMacBride
I want the Democrats to nominate someone who can win. The mayor of South Bend has close to zero chance of winning a general election, and he’d hurt downstream democrats who do rely on black voters. Sorry, but this is a no sale.
DavidIntl
I find it very puzzling that people in the LGBT community seem willing to simply accept that many African-Americans are uncomfortable with a gay candidate, and not call for outreach and education to try to change that embarrassing reality for the left.
Cam
This is the exact same argument people used against Obama.
And elect-ability is the exact same argument Republicans used when they picked Bob Dole and John McCain to run and when Democrats picked John Kerry.
Going with the boring choice has not worked for decades and yet people still keep saying it.
Michael1500
I’m going to back Buttigieg for as long as he’s in it, not only because he’s a brother, but also because he’s as good (or better) than any other candidate. I fully realize he doesn’t have a chance, but we have to start sometime and somewhere. It’s too bad that he’s (in my opinion) the best candidate, but has no chance of winning even as a running mate. I’m just being realistic.
Ronbo
I’m not attacking, I sincerely want to know what Buttigieg has accomplished. His history over at ubber-conservative McKinsey & Company makes me question if he even supports New Deal policy.
cliche guevara
Queerty is stretching the definition of “statistical dead heat”. He has in the race and has some momentum in the state but so does Warren and she consistently polls a few points ahead of the pack. None of that really matters though. There is a lot of hoopla made about Iowa and New Hampshire but the best predictor for the Democratic primary is in fact South Carolina. Buttigieg hasn’t broken double digit polling there with 5th place being his best showing to date. Biden has a considerable margin there with Warren being the only other candidate to consistently break double digit polling. This is quickly becoming the Biden/Warren show with everyone else becoming an also ran.
DavidIntl
A number of other countries have had openly gay or lesbian leaders, including some not-so-very-liberal places like Ireland. I hardly think world leaders would find it particularly problematic dealing with a gay U.S. president. If Buttigieg were elected president, it certainly would be a huge step forward for the U.S., but not in any way groundbreaking on a global scale.
Cam
Except the U.S. is a major power and Ireland is not. Countries like Saudi Arabia would have to be asking a gay guy for trade deals, Russia would need to be negotiating with somebody while they have laws against people like him on their books, etc… it’s a big deal.
Aromaeus
Bootyjudge is polling around 8% nationally and has 0% among black voters and you need double digits to win in a general/primary. He really thinks highly of himself. Let’s not even go into his neo-liberal politics.
tdx3fan
Mr 4%. He celebrates any poll where he hits 10% and that has been only one and it wasn’t national. Yesterday’s news! The black population has a problem with him due to history as mayor not his love of dick.