Politics

Pete Buttigieg: How Did Mike Pence Become ‘Cheerleader of the Porn Star Presidency?’

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Potential 2020 candidate asks if VP “stopped believing in Scripture when he started believing in Donald Trump.”

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Brian Snyder/Reuters

Pete Buttigieg, the Democratic mayor of South Bend, Indiana—who is eyeing a 2020 presidential run—blasted Vice President Mike Pence on Sunday night at a CNN town-hall event. While Buttigieg, who is openly gay, has criticized Pence in the past for his stance on LGBT rights, he said he “used to at least believe… that he believes in our institutions and he’s not personally corrupt.” But then, Buttigieg asked, “How could he allow himself to become the cheerleader of the porn star presidency? Is it that he stopped believing in Scripture when he started believing in Donald Trump? I don’t know.” Buttigieg announced in January that he was forming an exploratory committee for a 2020 run, saying at the time that Democrats need a new generation of leaders to unseat President Trump. “We can’t look for greatness in the past,” he said in his announcement at the time.