Vice President Mike Pence on Thursday
responded to presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg's criticism of his
opposition to LGBT rights, including marriage equality.
Appearing on CNBC's Squawk Box,
Pence said that Buttigieg, the openly gay mayor of South Bend,
Indiana, was using the issue to stand out in a crowded Democratic
primary field.
“Well, look, I worked very closely
with Mayor Pete when I was governor of the state of Indiana,” Pence
said. “We had a great working relationship, and he said some things
that are critical of my Christian faith and about me personally. And
he knows better; he knows me.”
“I get it. You know, it's, like, you
have 19 people running for president on that side, and part of it is
sliding off to the left. They're all competing with one another for
how much more liberal they can be. I get that,” he said.
Buttigieg has repeatedly called out the
vice president.
In one exchange, he questioned Pence's
faith, asking, “How could he allow himself to be the cheerleader of
the porn star president?” “Is it he stopped believing in
scripture when he started believing in Trump?” he rhetorically
asked.
In an emotional speech on Sunday,
Buttigieg took another swipe at Pence.
In that speech, Buttigieg talked about
how he struggled to come out and how his marriage to Chasten had
changed his life. “Thank God there was no pill [to make me
straight],” he said.
(Related: At
Victory Fund brunch, Pete Buttigieg says he would have done anything
not to be gay.)
“Being married to Chasten has made me
a better human being. … And yes Mr. Vice President, it has moved me
closer to God,” Buttigieg said.
On Monday, he delivered another blow to
the vice president.
“Just because you are LGBTQ doesn't
mean it's OK to discriminate against you,” he said in Las Vegas. “I
think most people get that. I think most Christians get that. And
it's time for us to move on toward a more inclusive and more humane
vision of faith that what this vice president represents.”
Pence has touched on all of these
themes. As governor of Indiana, Pence signed a bill into law that
critics said would give business owners the right discriminate
against the LGBT community. He's also supported therapies that
attempt to alter the sexual orientation or gender identity of people
who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, which
suggests he believes being LGBT is a choice.
On Thursday, Pence reiterated his
opposition to marriage equality.
“My family and I have a view of
marriage that's informed by our faith, and we stand by that,” he
said. “But that doesn't mean that we're critical of anyone else who
has a different point of view.”