President Trump recently said that the right candidate were running for the White House and that person happened to be gay, he would have no problem voting for them.
Trump was asked whether or not Americans would “vote for a gay man to be president” during Fox News’ Geraldo Rivera’s podcast on Thursday. The subject was brought up due to the success of Mayor Pete Buttigieg’s 2020 candidacy. Buttigieg is openly gay.
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President Trump Most Voters Don't Care Buttigieg is Gay … And That Includes Me!!! https://t.co/3TEIIblSha What do you think of this?
— Harvey Levin (@HarveyLevinTMZ) February 14, 2020
Trump Would Have No Problem Voting for a Gay President
“I think so,” Trump said. “I think there would be some that wouldn’t, and I wouldn’t be among that group, to be honest with you.”
President Trump noted that Mayor Pete being married to a man has not seemed to hurt his campaign and yet also acknowledged some voters would not like it.
“I think that it doesn’t seem to be hurting Pete ‘Boot-edge-edge,’” Trump continued. “It doesn’t seem to be hurting him very much. But there would certainly be a group. You know this better than I do. There would be a group that probably wouldn’t. But you and I would not be in that group.”
The President’s remarks on Buttigieg and his sexuality line up with statement Trump made last year in which he said he was happy to see the mayor openly showing his affection for his husband throughout his candidacy.
“I think it’s great. I think that’s something that perhaps some people will have a problem with. I have no problem with it whatsoever. I think it’s good,” Trump said.
A 2019 Gallup poll showed that 64 percent of Americans say they would vote for a gay or lesbian presidential candidate.
[totalpoll id=”187276″]
In the Wake of Buttigieg’s Success, Questions Are Being Raised
But with his successful second place showing in New Hampshire, how Pete Buttigieg’s sexuality might play in a general election is a question that has been raised. Conservative talk legend Rush Limbaugh was criticized on Wednesday when he wondered if the mayor’s LGBT identity could be a potential weakness.
“They’re looking at Mayor Pete, 37-year-old gay guy, mayor of South Bend, loves to kiss his husband on the debate stage,” Limbaugh said. “And they’re saying, OK, how’s this going to look, 37-year-old gay guy kissing his husband on stage next to ‘Mr. Man’ Donald Trump? What’s going to happen there?”
“And they got to be looking at that, and they’ve got to be saying, that despite all the great progress and despite all the great wokeness, and despite all the great ground that’s been covered, America’s still not ready to elect a gay guy kissing his husband on the debate stage,” Rush said.
“They have to be saying this, don’t they? Now, there may be some Democrats who think that is the ticket. There may be some Democrats who think that’s exactly what we need to do, Rush. Get a gay guy kissing his husband on stage, ram it down Trump’s throat, and beat him in the general election. Really. Having fun envisioning that,” he continued.
President Trump said in an interview that he would be open to voting for a gay candidate for president. https://t.co/fBZBRpfcVK
— NBC News (@NBCNews) February 14, 2020
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How Would Black Voters Respond?
Similarly, Democratic Congressmen Jim Clyburn has said Buttigieg’s sexuality could be a problem for older black voters.
“I know of a lot of people my age that feel that way,” said Clyburn. “I’m not going to sit here and tell you otherwise. I think everybody knows that’s an issue.”
Buttigieg responded to Clyburn’s comments by saying he believed his candidacy would be able to break through people’s “old prejudices.”
“It is remarkable how Americans are capable of moving past old habit, moving past old prejudices, making history, and getting the president that will serve them best regardless of the other noise that’s circling around the race,” Buttigieg said.