Buttigieg disputes sexual orientation concerns after Harris’ revelation

Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has expressed surprise at former Vice President Kamala Harris’ revelation that his sexual orientation posed too great a political risk for her vice presidential ticket.

First choice, but: In her forthcoming book “107 Days,” Harris disclosed that Buttigieg topped her initial vice presidential shortlist and was her preferred choice for running mate. However, she wrote that he “would have been an ideal partner — if I were a straight white man.” Having already broken barriers as the first South Asian and first Black woman on a major party ticket, Harris apparently worried whether Americans could accept additional demographic firsts.

Her memoir explains the reasoning behind this hesitation: “We were already asking a lot of America: to accept a woman, a Black woman, a Black woman married to a Jewish man. Part of me wanted to say, Screw it, let’s just do it. But knowing what was at stake, it was too big of a risk.” She ultimately chose Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, believing that Buttigieg shared her assessment “to our mutual sadness.”

Buttigieg’s response: Buttigieg, who ran for the Democratic primary in 2020, challenged Harris’ version of events in an interview with Politico, noting that her concerns about his sexuality never arose in their discussions. Citing his experience as South Bend mayor, Buttigieg said he believes in “giving Americans more credit” than Harris suggested.

His response also emphasized policy over identity. “My experience in politics has been that the way that you earn trust with voters is based mostly on what they think you’re going to do for their lives, not on categories. You just have to go to voters with what you think you can do for them,” he said. “Politics is about the results we can get for people and not about these other things.”