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Democratic presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg reaffirmed his criticism of Vice President Mike Pence on Friday, saying that the former Indiana governor “advances homophobic policies.”
He made the comment while speaking to conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, who asked Buttigieg whether he thought Pence was homophobic.
"I don't know what's in his heart," Buttigieg, 37, said after Hewitt asked him whether he thought Pence was homophobic.
"He’s always been polite to me in person," Buttigieg said, according to a transcript published by the radio show. "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, even though he said very nice things about my service."
Buttigieg went on to reference Pence's opposition to gay marriage.
"So you know, 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," Buttigieg said. "The problem is it’s hurting other people."
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Buttigieg’s comments Friday were the just the latest inflection point in a complex relationship between the two politicians from Indiana.
Going to back to the political memoir he released in February, “Shortest Way Home,” Buttigieg took issue with the role Pence’s social conservatism played during his administration but also referred to the former Indiana governor as “affable, even gentle.”
For Pence’s part, as governor, he fought to secure grant money that was instrumental in the renovation of a downtown South Bend landmark, Studebaker Building 84, where Buttigieg announced the official start of his candidacy for president.
Their relationship took a turn in the past few months, however. At a well-received CNN town hall in March, Buttigieg referred to Pence as “the cheerleader for the porn-star presidency,” in reference to President Donald Trump’s scandal with adult-film actress Stormy Daniels.
He also directed criticism at “the Mike Pences of the world” during an LGBTQ fundraiser last month over opposition to same-sex marriage, saying “ if you have a problem with who I am, your problem is not with me. Your quarrel, sir, is with my creator.”
Days later, the vice president responded to Buttigieg, calling the South Bend mayor’s criticism an attack on his faith.
“He knows better,” Pence said during a CNBC interview. “He knows me.”
And in a Fox News interview that aired Monday, Pence suggested he’s been showing restraint with Buttigieg but that if he gets the Democratic nomination, that could change.
"If he wins their party’s nomination, we’ll have a lot more to say about him," Pence told Fox News' Shannon Bream.
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