President Donald Trump spoke to Fox News Channel's The Next Revolution with Steve Hilton in an exclusive interview that will air Sunday.
In the interview, they discussed 2020 Democratic Presidential Candidate Pete Buttigieg (Boot-edge-edge), his same-sex marriage and what it means to have an openly gay presidential candidate at this time in the United States.
"Mayor Pete" Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana has been the city's mayor since 2012. Formerly, he served as an American naval intelligence officer.
Prior to that, he graduated from Harvard, and then from Oxford on a Rhodes Scholarship. He is open with the public about his life, as well as his marriage to Chasten Glezman, a middle-school teacher at the Montessori Academy in Mishawaka, Indiana right next door to South Bend.
Buttigieg announced officially on April 14 that he would run for President in the 2020 campaign. He remains open about his relationship with Glezman and his future goals in the context of his 2020 run.
In his interview with Fox News, Trump fielded questions about Pete Buttigieg and being openly gay amidst his campaign and surprised, presumably, everyone with his responses.
When asked if he thought it was "great to see" a man on stage alongside his husband as a normal event, Trump interrupted:
"I think it's great. I think it's absolutely fine; I do."
Steve Hilton then asked:
"Don't you think it's a sign of great progress in the country?"
To which Trump replied:
"Yeah, I think it's great. It's something that, perhaps some people will have a problem with. I have no problem with it whatsoever. I think it's good."
This comes as a surprise to many, considering his administration's attacks on LGBTQ+ equality, the Trans Military Ban, and even Trump's recent dig at Buttigieg, comparing him to Mad Magazine's Alfred E. Neuman.
Trump's response to Buttigieg appearing on stage with his husband and the recent ban on transgender people serving in the military are in direct opposition with one another.
While the Pentagon argues that it is not a ban, in the sense that those interested parties could be accepted if they appear as their assigned gender during their years of service, it is still a ban on non-conforming individuals.
Trump's acceptance of Buttigieg, in comparison, is one of apparent open-mindedness about putting Pete Buttigieg's sexuality on public display instead of hidden as he expects transgender service members to be.
Guess Trump's mandatory closet is not for all LGBTQ+.
Since individuals who identify as transgender now have to hide their identity in order to serve the country, it is suspicious that Trump supports Buttigieg running for Commander-in-Chief.
Of course, Mayor Pete is a veteran and Trump served in...