“I am in a faithful, loving and committed marriage,” Buttigieg said. “I’m proud of my marriage. And I’m proud of my husband.”
Last week, Limbaugh, 69, was criticizing the Democratic Party’s fieldof 2020 presidential candidateswhen he focused on Buttigieg, 38, whom he argued would have electability problems because of his sexuality.
Limbaugh referred to Buttigieg as “Booty Judge” and said PresidentDonald Trump, 73, would probably “have fun” with the former Indiana mayor for being publicly affectionate with his husband,Chasten, 30.
“[The Democrats are] sitting there and they’re looking at Mayor Pete … gay guy, mayor of South Bend, loves to kiss his husband on the debate stage — and they’re saying, ‘Okay, how’s this going to look?’ ” Limbaugh said Wednesday. “A … gay guy kissing his husband onstage next to ‘Mr. Man’ Donald Trump — what’s going to happen there?”
Last Sunday, Buttigieg said on Fox News that he was “not going to be lectured on family values from the likes of Rush Limbaugh or anybody who supports Donald J. Trump as the moral as well as political leader of the United States.” (Both Limbaugh and Trump have been married multiple times.)
“America has moved on and we should have politics of belonging that welcomes everybody,” Buttigieg told Fox News’ Chris Wallace. “That’s what the American people are for. And I am saddened for what the Republican Party has become if they embrace that kind of homophobic rhetoric.”
Appearingon Ellen DeGeneres’ show on Friday, Buttigieg expanded on his response to Limbaugh, adding a bit of humor.
“Look, I guess he just has a different idea of what makes a man than I do. … When I was packing my bags for Afghanistan, Donald Trump was working on season 7 ofCelebrity Apprentice,” he said on the show.
“Since when is strength about the chest-pounding of the loud-mouth guy at the end of the bar?” Buttigieg continued. “The strongest people I know are not the loudest people, they’re the ones who have the deepest sense of who they are and what they value and what they care about.”
The camera then cut to Chasten in the audience, laughing.
Spencer Platt/Getty; Drew Angerer/Getty
Chasten (left) and Pete Buttigieg.Matt Rourke/AP/Shutterstock
Earlier this month, Trump stopped his State of the Union addressto give Limbaugh the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s civilian honor. A day earlier, Limbaugh had announced on the air that he had advanced lung cancer.
The Daily ShowhostTrevor Noahcalled out Limbaugh’s history of being “racist, homophobic, xenophobic, and sexist” ina segmenton his Comedy Central show, while Rep.Alexandria Ocasio-Cortezwas more blunt: “Rush Limbaugh is a violent racist.”
“We should point out Buttigieg is married to one man. I don’t even know what number spouse Limbaugh’s up to,”Tapper said.
“It’s a miscalculation as to where the country is at,” Graham told the AP. “I think the country is not going to disqualify somebody because of their sexual orientation.”
source: people.com
