Pete Buttigieg Slams Ron DeSantis For Trying To ‘Prove His Manhood’ With Anti-LGBT Video Featuring ‘Shirtless Bodybuilders’

Pete Buttigieg, the first openly gay transportation secretary, criticized Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) for posting an anti-LGBT video trying to mock Donald Trump – and seemingly trying to prove his own masculinity. 

The video was posted on Twitter by the DeSantis War Room on Friday. This first part of the video focuses on Trump and the promises he made to the LGBT community. 

It features short clips including one where Trump promised that he would “do everything in my power to protect our LGBTQ citizens,” which Trump said after the shooting at the gay nightclub, Pulse Nightclub, in Florida. Throughout the first portion of the video, the LGBTQ flag is seen numerous times, and references to celebrities who are trans, including Caitlyn Jenner, are featured.

The second part of the clip shows pictures of DeSantis and shirtless men seemingly in an attempt to portray DeSantis as more masculine than Trump. The music changes to a stronger thumping beat and shows quotes from DeSantis showing off his anti-LGBTQ statements and bills he has passed. 

Buttigieg blasted the video in a TV interview. “I’m going to choose my words carefully, partly because I’m appearing as secretary, so I can’t talk about campaigns,” he told CNN. “I’m going to leave aside the strangeness of trying to prove your manhood by putting up a video that splices images of you in between oiled-up, shirtless bodybuilders.”

He continued, “And just get to the bigger issue that is on my mind whenever I see this stuff in the policy space, which is, again: Who are you trying to help? Who are you trying to make better off? And what public policy problems do you get up in the morning thinking about how to solve?”

“I just don’t understand the mentality of somebody who gets up in the morning thinking that he’s going to prove his worth by competing over who can make life hardest for a hard-hit community that is already so vulnerable in America,” he added

The DeSantis Director of Rapid Response, Christina Pushaw, wrote back in the comments on Twitter saying, “Opposing the federal recognition of “Pride Month” isn’t “homophobic.” We wouldn’t support a month to celebrate straight people for sexual orientation, either… It’s unnecessary, divisive, pandering. In a country as vast and diverse as the USA, identity politics is poison.”

Chasten Buttigieg, who is married to Buttigieg, backed his husband up by tweeting, “This is actually very gay.”

Republicans even criticized the video, including the group representing LGBT conservatives, Log Cabin Republicans, writing five different tweets on the matter.

“Ron DeSantis’ extreme rhetoric goes has just ventured into homophobic territory,” they wrote, “[this] rhetoric will lose hard-fought gains in critical races across the nation.” Additionally, they characterize his policies as, “dangerous and politically stupid.”