Washington, – The mayor of South Bend (Indiana), Pete Buttigieg, formalized this Sunday his race for the Democratic nomination to the White House before more than 6,000 enthusiastic supporters, with a speech in which he claimed the need for a generational change to snatch to power President Donald Trump.
Buttigieg, 37, has generated a surprising tug among voters, due in part to his atypical profile: he is young, gay, progressive, the son of immigrants, veteran in the war in Afghanistan, trained at Harvard and Oxford, and also plays the piano and speaks seven languages, including Spanish.
“The moment we are living demands hopeful and audacious voices from communities like ours, and yes, it demands a new generation of leadership,” Buttigieg said in his formal presentation of the campaign.
If he came to power, Buttigieg would not only be the first openly gay President of the United States, but also the youngest; a contrast with Trump, who in 2017 became, at 70, the oldest president to assume the position in the history of the country.
Many call him “Mayor Pete” because of his complicated last name, but he has minimized that hole and insofar as he can teach how to pronounce it: it says “Boot-edge-edge”, indicates his Twitter profile.
Buttigieg asked to believe in “a new American spring” in his speech, in which he described his personal challenges and the difference that marked in his life the legalization of gay marriage in 2015, which allowed him to marry his current husband, Chasten.
“The forces that are changing our country are tectonic, and help explain what made this possible Presidency, so this time we’re not talking about winning an election, but winning an era,” Buttigieg said.
The charismatic mayor will have to face 17 other candidates in the Democratic primary, but has raised more than $ 7 million in the first quarter of 2019 and ranks third in some polls in Iowa and New Hampshire, the first two states to vote .
He has also clashed with US Vice President Mike Pence, also from Indiana and known for his opposition to many policies in favor of homosexuals and transsexuals, something that justifies his Christianity.
Buttigieg has alerted Pence that when he gets involved with his sexuality, he is also getting involved with his “creator”, in reference to God, something that the vice president of the United States. He defined this week as an “attack” on his “Christian faith.” (EFE).
