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Pete Buttigieg said he wants to restore cruising by the summer and the internet reacted accordingly

A photo of Pete Buttigieg, who was heckled by anti-gay protesters in Texas.

Pete Buttigieg attends a campaign stop in New Hampshire. (Scott Eisen/Getty Images)

Secretary of transportation Pete Buttigieg announced his plans to bring back cruising this summer, and the internet, predictably, had a field day.

Before your mind goes straight to the gutter, Mayor Pete was referring to the leisurely act of sailing on ocean liners after COVID restrictions have been lifted.

It all started innocently enough: itĀ was Buttigieg’s first time in the White House briefing room since he joined the Biden administration, and the subject came up about ten minutes in.

CBS News asked him what he would say to cruise industry leaders who believe they should be subject to the same guidance as airlines.

“The bottom line is safety,ā€Ā Buttigieg answered.

“Look, Iā€™m the secretary of transportation, I canā€™t wait for us to be on the move as much as possible in a safe and responsible way, but it has to be safe and responsible. Airlines and airplanes have one safety protocol, cruise ships have another. Vehicles have another. Each one needs to be treated based on whatā€™s safer for that sector.

“I care a lot about seeing the cruise sector thrive,ā€ he continued. ā€œI know that the CDC is hopeful that a lot of these operators will be in an opportunity to be sailing by mid-summer, and laying out these specific gates they need to get through, is a very important step toward that.”

Buttigieg didnā€™t actually say the word “cruising” in his answer, but various news outlets paraphrased his response and the headlines spread across the internet like wildfire.

God bless you, Gay Twitterā„¢.

 

 

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