Former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg pushed back against attacks on his sexuality, days after allies of President Donald Trump questioned whether Americans are ready for a gay candidate who kisses his husband onstage.
"Well, I am in a faithful, loving, committed marriage. I'm proud of my marriage. And I'm proud of my husband," Buttigieg, who is running for the Democratic presidential nomination, said on Fox News.
"And I'm not going to be lectured on family values from the likes of Rush Limbaugh or anybody who supports Donald J. Trump as the moral as well as political leader of the United States," he added.
"America has moved on, and we should have a politics of belonging that welcomes everybody."
Buttigieg was referring to attacks by radio host Rush Limbaugh, who received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Trump this month. In a recent episode of his radio programme, Limbaugh framed his comments as an ostensible analysis of how Democrats feel.