Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg staunchly defended himself against derogatory remarks made in a book promoted by House Speaker Mike Johnson. Secretary Pete spoke out against the attacks on his sexual orientation featured in the book The Revivalist Manifesto by Scott McKay.
The book, which gained media attention after Johnson's endorsement, slings anti-gay insults at Buttigieg, labeling him a "queer" choice for his Cabinet role based on his sexual orientation. Buttigieg was cited as the "Gay Mayor Pete Buttigieg" in a section that unjustly implicated him in supply chain issues. Another passage claims that Buttigieg campaigned in 2020 on being “openly, and obnoxiously, gay.”
Reacting to these disparaging comments, Buttigieg condemned the persistent focus on his personal life and identity rather than on substantial policies to improve the country.
You can hear what Buttigieg said in the video below.
Buttigieg reacts to House speaker endorsing book attacking him www.youtube.com
Buttigieg said:
“What’s obnoxious is the idea that you can be coming back to race or sexuality as this author does constantly – you know, not just the way he talks about me, but the way he talks about Cabinet colleagues of mine."
“All kinds of things that mostly seem to come back to an obsession with identity, with either who you’re married to or what your race is, and very little, certainly very little of use about how to make this country a better place."
In response to queries about the fixation on his sexual orientation by certain Republican quarters, Buttigieg remarked:
“It seems like they can’t think of anything else…."
"You have somebody who is taken seriously by none other than the Speaker of the House of the United States, basically suggesting that the reason we had supply chain problems in the rebound from COVID wasn’t because of the factors in China shutting down and then sending their ships here all at once, it was because the Secretary of Transportation is married to a guy and not to a woman."
"They just can’t seem to let go of this.”
It's worth noting that Johnson, who had previously endorsed the book, wrote a foreword filled with praise, supporting various controversial claims in the book, including the Pizzagate conspiracy theory and defending podcaster Joe Rogan’s past use of racial slurs.
However, after his promotion to House Speaker, Johnson distanced himself from the controversial content, claiming he hadn’t read the highlighted passages and disagreed with them vehemently. A spokesperson for Johnson said he "wrote the foreword as a favor to a friend, supportive of the general theme of the book but not as an endorsement of all the opinions expressed.”
Buttigieg expressed skepticism about Johnson's sudden disavowal, emphasizing the depth of Johnson's previous association with the book:
"Pretty hard to believe. I’ve often been called to write a blurb for a book. He didn’t just do that, he didn’t just put a quote on the back of it."
"He wrote a forward that is in the book, then had this guy on his podcast, and then went out of his way to say things associating himself both with the author and with the book.”
Many have condemned Johnson's behavior.
Johnson's previous affiliations and statements have raised concerns about his positions. Prior to his congressional tenure, he held a senior role in the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), which has been labeled a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Back in 2004, while he served as legal counsel for the ADF, he actively campaigned for the Louisiana Marriage Amendment, in which he characterized same-sex couples as "inherently unnatural" and drew inappropriate comparisons to pedophilia.
Interestingly, Johnson now professes to have no recollection of making those statements. Additionally, he occupied a leadership position within the Southern Baptist Convention, a group known for its conservative stance on LGBTQ+ issues.
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