Buttigieg said ‘of course’ US was ready for a gay president

Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said he wouldn’t have run for president if he didn’t believe the country was ready for a gay president.“My experience in South Bend, Indiana, in getting reelected with 80% of the vote after coming out,” Buttigieg said on Meet the Press. “And my experience, right now, traveling the country, shows me that what’s important, and what’s really on people’s minds, isn’t about you, your identity as a candidate; it’s about them. It’s about their lives.” Buttigieg ran for the 2020 presidency in April 2019, where he ultimately lost the Democratic nomination to former President Joe Biden. He was the first openly gay man to make a bid for the Oval Office. Former Vice President Kamala Harris said he was her first choice of potential running mates. In her book, she said he would have been the perfect candidate “if I were a straight white man.” She ultimately decided it was too big a risk for 2024, and felt that asking voters to accept a black woman, married to a Jewish man, with a gay man as her running mate was too risky, Harris wrote in her book. In an interview with Kristen Welker, Buttigieg said “of course” the country was ready for a gay president, although he dodged repeated questions on whether he was going to run for the 2028 presidential campaign. “I don’t think now is the time to even be talking about that,” Buttigieg said. “We are about 50 days away from a critically important midterm election; I believe Democrats are going to win.” Buttigieg also clapped back at comments made at the Republican National Committee midterm convention in Dallas, saying Republicans can’t defend their results. During their speeches, Republicans repeatedly called Democrats communists who hated America. Buttigieg said voters will see through the $5,000 dividend promise made by President Donald Trump if Republicans hold on to both houses in Congress“You can’t fool people about what’s going on in their own lives,” Buttigieg said. “They see that this economy is worse. Diesel, right now, is at the highest price ever recorded in American history. They’ve seen so many broken promises.”‘TRUMP DIVIDEND’ CHECKS MEET MOUNTING GOP RESISTANCEButtigieg said the country was moving in a different direction, believing Democrats will ultimately win the midterm elections. “They are ready for change, even in districts where I didn’t think we would even be able to compete, if you were to ask me 6 months ago,” Buttigieg said.