Pete Buttigieg speaks at a campaign event on December 8, 2019 in Washington, Iowa. (Win McNamee/Getty)
Kept buoyant by his surging poll numbers and caucus performances, presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg is keeping busy by fending off broadsides by opponents assailing him for his sexuality.
One salvos came from right-wing radio personality Rush Limbaugh, who drew bipartisan criticism last week after he questioned how the Democrat kissing his husband onstage would look in a debate against “Mr Man” US president Donald Trump.
Limbaugh intensified the scandal when he claimed that he had a phone call with Trump, who allegedly said, “Never apologise, don’t ever,” Media Matters reported.
But Buttigieg, no stranger to taking on Trump, delivered a rosy rejoinder back at Limbaugh and Trump during a CNN town hall Tuesday.
Pete Buttigieg stings Rush Limbaugh’s attempts to deride his campaign.
The former South Bend, Indiana mayor defended himself on the Las Vegas, Nevada stage ahead of the crucial caucus results Wednesday.
He revived the allegations that rattled the world last year, when adult film actor Stormy Daniels accused the president of giving her hush money after the pair had an affair. The money, she said, was arranged by the president’s former attorney general Michael Cohen.
“The idea that the likes of Rush Limbaugh or Donald Trump lecturing anybody on family values,” Buttigieg explained.
“One thing about my marriage is it’s never involved me having to send hush money to a porn star.”
Pete Buttigieg: “The idea of the likes of Rush Limbaugh or Donald Trump lecturing anybody on family values… One thing about my marriage is, it’s never involved me to send hush money to a porn star” #cnntownhall https://t.co/pJxssL6arC pic.twitter.com/I8a3Pgv2es
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) February 19, 2020
When Axios reached out to the White House for comment, officers declined to comment on whether Trump did call Limbaugh.
What did Rush Limbaugh say?
Pete Buttigieg has lightly salted his campaign with kissing his husband, Chasten, much to the chagrin of conservatives.
Limbaugh launched an attack against the mayor on his stindiated radio show.
He said he envisioned Democrats concluding that “despite all the great wokeness and despite all the great ground that’s been covered, that America’s still not ready to elect a gay guy kissing his husband on the debate stage president”.
Nevertheless, when Trump himself was quizzed if Americans would vote for a gay man to be president, he responded: “I think so.”