Washington Free Beacon editor in chief Matthew Continetti said that presidential hopeful and South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg began a fight with Vice President Mike Pence to score political points.
Buttigieg spoke out against Pence’s long-held opposition to same sex marriage during a speech last weekend, saying that his marriage to Chasten Glezman “has moved me closer to God.”
“If you have a problem with who I am, your problem is not with me: your quarrel, sir, is with my creator,” Buttigieg told Pence.
During a Thursday panel on MSNBC’s Meet the Press, Continetti said Buttigieg is using his Christianity to question Pence’s own Christian values.
“Buttigieg said…when you have a problem with me, your problem is with my creator, also being Pence’s creator. See, he’s flipping it back on Pence,” Continetti said. “He’s not saying, ‘This is my religion, I’m proud of it.’ He’s saying, ‘No, you, Mr. Vice President, are not living up to yours.'”
“It seems to be a fight about Christianity, about who’s got more Christian values,” host Chuck Todd said.
“And we shouldn’t be having that fight,” Continetti said. “We should be living in a pluralistic democracy where we can each sit under our own tree. What’s fascinating to me about this is that this is a feud Buttigieg began 10 days ago. He had no problem with Vice President Pence until he gave that speech where he decided to make this a political issue.”
Continetti added that, while this will be an “effective” issue for Buttigieg in the Democratic primary, it will not likely help him in a general election.
Pence and Buttigieg enjoyed a good working relationship while Pence served as governor of Indiana, working together often. Buttigieg once gave Pence an “I (heart) SB” t-shirt to solidify their relationship.
“Politics aside, we have to be partners when it comes to creating jobs here,” Buttigieg said of Pence in 2013. “He’s the governor of Indiana, South Bend is in Indiana, so our interests are very much aligned when it comes to South Bend’s future.”
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