Pete Buttigieg says LGBT media attacks him for being ‘wrong kind of gay’
Democratic presidential candidate, Mayor of South Bend, Indiana Pete Buttigieg (Sean Rayford/Getty)
Pete Buttigieg has complained that LGBT+ media outlets criticise him for being the “wrong kind of gay”.
The Democratic presidential hopeful made the comments in an interview with SiriusXM on Wednesday.
Pete Buttigieg takes a swing at LGBT media outlets.
Asked if he has an easier experience as a masculine-presenting gay man, he said: “It’s tough for me to know, because I just am what I am, and you know, there’s going to be a lot of that.
“That’s why I can’t even read the LGBT media anymore, because it’s all, he’s too gay, not gay enough, wrong kind of gay.
“Like, jeez, alright. All I know is life became a lot easier when I just started allowing myself to be myself, and I’ll let other people write up whether I’m ‘too this’ or ‘too that’.”
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It is unclear which LGBT+ publication Buttigieg is claiming has suggested he is “too gay” or “not gay enough”.
A number of mainstream outlets have published negative opinion pieces about his sexuality from LGBT+ writers, with The New Republic retracting a column in July that referred to the candidate as “Mary Pete”.
However, coverage from LGBT+ outlets has largely focused on the historic nature of Buttigieg’s campaign, the backlash from anti-LGBT Republicans, and his moderate politics.
Democratic candidate told coming out story during debate.
The mayor of South Bend, Indiana, told his coming out story during his closing remarks at the third US Democratic debate last week.
He said: “As a military officer serving under ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’, and as an elected official in the state of Indiana when Mike Pence was governor, at a certain point, when it came to professional setbacks, I had to wonder whether just acknowledging who I was was going to be the ultimate career-ending professional setback.”
Democratic presidential hopeful Mayor of South Bend, Indiana, Pete Buttigieg speaks during the third Democratic primary debate (ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty)
Buttigieg added: “I came back from the deployment and realised you only get to live one life. I was not interested in not knowing what it was like to be in love any longer. So I just came out.
“I had no idea what kind of professional setback it would be, especially because inconveniently, it was an election year in my socially conservative community.
“What happened was that when I trusted voters to judge me based on the job that I did for them, they decided to trust me, and re-elected me with 80 percent of the vote.
“What I learned was that trust can be reciprocated and that part of how you can win, and deserve to win, is to know what’s worth more to you than winning. And I think that’s what we need in the presidency right now.”
Social media users praised the landmark moment, adding that it shows how much has been achieved when it comes to LGBT+ rights.
