Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Sunday he didnt understand the rationale behind Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) latest campaign ad championing his efforts to restrict the freedoms of LGBTQ+ Americans.
The video, released Friday, overlays former President Donald Trumps comments of support after the devastating mass shooting at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida, in 2016 with headlines of DeSantis own efforts to limit the rights of trans people, ban pride events and punish drag queens. Clips of DeSantis, who is running for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, smiling and laughing play in the background.
Im going to leave aside the strangeness of trying to prove your manhood by putting up a video that splices images of you in between oiled-up shirtless bodybuilders, and just get to a bigger issue that is on my mind whenever I see this stuff in the policy space, which is, again, who are you trying to help? Buttigieg, the first openly gay Cabinet member confirmed by the Senate, asked on CNN s State of the Union. Who are you trying to make better off?
Were focused as an administration how to get things done to make people better off, he added.
\"Who are you trying to help? Who are you trying to make better off?\"
Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg reacts to a new Desantis campaign video attacking Republican rival Donald Trumps previous promise to protect LGBTQ rights. @CNNSotu #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/n7VHPkNSlv
"Who are you trying to help? Who are you trying to make better off?"
CNN (@CNN) July 2, 2023
Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg reacts to a new Desantis campaign video attacking Republican rival Donald Trumps previous promise to protect LGBTQ rights. @CNNSotu #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/n7VHPkNSlv
The ad, shared by the DeSantis War Room account on Twitter, sparked immediate and fierce condemnation from both sides of the aisle. The Log Cabin Republicans , the nations largest LGBTQ+ GOP group, said the clip was divisive and desperate, adding the DeSantis campaign had ventured into homophobic territory and alienated swing-state and younger voters.
Former New Jersey governor and fellow 2024 GOP candidate Chris Christie (R) also said he wasnt comfortable with the clip, adding he didnt believe its what leaders should be doing.
To wrap up Pride Month, lets hear from the politician who did more than any other Republican to celebrate it
pic.twitter.com/FT7LdW4vls
To wrap up Pride Month, lets hear from the politician who did more than any other Republican to celebrate it
DeSantis War Room (@DeSantisWarRoom) June 30, 2023
pic.twitter.com/FT7LdW4vls
Buttigieg told CNNs Dana Bash on Sunday he didnt buy the Florida governors attempt to recast his ongoing attacks on vulnerable Americans as strength.
I just dont understand the mentality of somebody who gets up in the morning, thinking that hes going to prove his worth by competing over who can make life hardest for a hard-hit community, that is already so vulnerable in America, he added.
This is actually very gay. https://t.co/k6pfqSPsdu
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buttigieg","slug":"pete-buttigieg","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/pete-buttigieg","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/pete-buttigieg","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/pete-buttigieg"},"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"Pete Buttigieg","slug":"pete-buttigieg","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/pete-buttigieg"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"isLiveblog":false,"cetUnit":"buzz_body","bodyAds":["\r\n\r\n","\r\n\r\n","\r\n\r\n"],"adCount":0},"isCollectionEmbed":false}">This is actually very gay. https://t.co/k6pfqSPsdu
Chasten Glezman Buttigieg (@Chasten) July 1, 2023
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DeSantis camp has rejected any criticism, saying the governors ad on the heels of pride month wasnt homophobic.
We wouldnt support a month to celebrate straight people for sexual orientation, either, Christina Pushaw, the rapid response director for the DeSantis campaign, said on Twitter. Its unnecessary, divisive, pandering. In a country as vast and diverse as the USA, identity politics is poison.
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