Pete Buttigieg seemingly came out of nowhere to become a contender for the Democratic nomination in 2020. And while he didn't win, it is clear that he has a bright future in politics. He is currently serving as Joe Biden's Secretary of Transportation.
The former South Bend, Indiana mayor who was educated at Harvard and served in Afghanistan, is also the first openly gay cabinet secretary in United States history. During an appearance on MSNBC on Tuesday, Buttigieg was asked about Republican attacks on the LGBTQ community.
" I think where it largely comes from is folks who don’t want to talk about why they were against the infrastructure loans," he answered, "building roads and bridges. They don’t want to talk about why they were against $35 insulin that the President delivered for Medicare recipients. They don’t want to explain why they were for these radical positions that speak to what those people are worried about their everyday lives."
The Transportation Secretary continued, "think about how hard it is to be a teenager to begin with. But think about how hard it is to be a teenager when you realize that you are different when you’re coming to terms with your gender identity or you’re coming to terms with realizing that you’re gay or lesbian."
Buttigieg closed, "The last thing you need in your life are politicians trying to score political points by making things worse for you. We’re gonna stand together, whether it’s pride or just on any given day and say no, we’re going to expand, not withdraw, the freedoms and equalities we won in this country, and we’re going to build on them."