Chasten Buttigieg, the husband of Pete Buttigieg, expressed concern for young gay people after conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh claimed the country would not support a gay president.
In an interview with ABC News, Buttigieg responded to Limbaugh’s predication that the United States is not ready for a “gay guy” who “loves kissing his husband on debate stages.” He said he brushed off the remarks on a personal level but expressed concern for young gay people who may be intimated by the remarks.
“This isn’t new. I’ve been dealing with this my whole life. I dealt with a multitude of Rush Limbaughs when I was walking through the hallways of my high school,” Buttigieg said. “You have to realize that LGBTQ Americans have to come out every single day.”
He continued, “When somebody asks who we’re married to, asks about our partner, or you feel like you want to share something about yourself, but, then, you have to second-guess how that person’s going to react if I say, ‘Well, my husband,’ instead of, ‘My wife.’”
Buttigieg said he’s been “dealing with the likes of Rush Limbaugh” for years but that he hopes that the remarks don’t make other gay people feel defeated. He explained, “What I’m actually worried about are the young people in this country who are watching the historic nature of this campaign, watching how people talk about it, watching how people react to it and treat it, and wondering if this country is actually a safe place for them to be.”
Pete Buttigieg similarly dismissed Limbaugh’s remarks, saying, “I love my husband. I’m faithful to my husband. On stage, we usually just go for a hug, but I love him very much, and I’m not going to take lectures on family values from the likes of Rush Limbaugh.”
Chasten Buttigieg comes from a conservative family with whom he no longer keeps in touch. His brother, Rhyan Glezman, told the Washington Examiner that Chasten lied when he said he had been kicked out of his childhood home for being gay. Glezman said, “He was struggling for a time, but there was nothing on the family end that said he had to leave.”
[Related: Rush Limbaugh comments show challenge for Pete Buttigieg as a gay candidate]
