Buttigieg to Hugh Hewitt: Vice President Pence ‘Advances Homophobic Policies’

2020 candidate Mayor Pete Buttigieg spoke with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt and was asked about his criticisms of Vice President Mike Pence.

Buttigieg has been openly critical on the campaign trail of Pence’s opposition to same-sex marriage. Earlier this week Pence called Buttigieg’s remarks “disappointing.”

Hewitt, after noting he is friends with the vice president, asked Buttigieg, “Do you really think Mike Pence is homophobic?”

“Well, he advances homophobic policies,” Buttigieg responded. I don’t know what’s in his heart. 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.”

He continued:

“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. 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… 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.”

You can listen above, via The Hugh Hewitt Show.

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