Buttigieg Battles Mike Pence, or So He Imagines Mayor Pete picks a fight with a caricature of the vice president that he knows from experience is false. By Brian Anderson
https://www.wsj.com/articles/buttigieg-battles-mike-pence-or-so-he-imagines-11556232516
Vice President Mike Pence and 2020 Democratic hopeful Pete Buttigieg have been embroiled in a notable fight over the past few weeks—“notable” mostly because the vice president hasn’t been involved.
Mr. Buttigieg went after Mr. Pence unprompted at the LGBTQ Victory Fund’s National Champagne Brunch April 7. Referring disparagingly to “the Mike Pences of the world,” the South Bend, Ind., mayor told the audience that the former governor has a “quarrel” with him because Mr. Buttigieg is gay.
Mr. Pence’s response? “I’ve known Mayor Pete for many years,” he told CNN. “I considered him a friend. He knows I don’t have a problem with him.”
For years, Democrats have engaged in these sorts of shadow-boxing matches against Mr. Pence, swinging their arms at a hateful caricature that doesn’t exist. To Republicans’ amusement, the vice president’s would-be adversaries have yet to get much of a rise out of him—and little wonder, he is one of the more polite and good-natured people in Washington. Yet the media eagerly cover these fights as if they were one-on-one, even though they’re one-on-zero.
When Olympic figure skater Adam Rippon last year criticized Mr. Pence’s alleged past support for conversion therapy, the New York Times published a headline: “Mike Pence Tangles With Olympian Adam Rippon Over Gay Rights Record.” In reality, Mr. Rippon’s comments seem to have come unprompted, and Mr. Pence responded by tweeting to Mr. Rippon: “I want you to know we are FOR YOU . . . I am proud of you.” That’s some tangle.
The media even turn amicable meetings into dramatic showdowns. The website NowThis News implied that Mr. Pence was uncomfortable at a reception with the head of Ireland’s government, posting a video of the encounter and inviting its readers: “Please enjoy Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar bringing his boyfriend to meet Mike Pence.” The same thing happened when Mr. Pence swore in Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, who is bisexual. “He seems uncomfortable and she’s having fun with it,” tweeted Adam Best, a co-host of a left-leaning podcast.
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