Buttigieg Takes Down Rush Limbaugh's Homophobia on Ellen

Democratic presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg responded to Rush Limbaugh's homophobic comments, called his husband "Brad Pitt," and revealed which competitor he'd like to be stranded with in an interview on Ellen DeGeneres's talk show Friday.

Far-right radio talker Limbaugh had wondered aloud how Buttigieg, who shows affection for husband Chasten in public, would look standing next to "Mr. Man Donald Trump" on a debate stage. The nation isn't ready for a gay president who kisses his husband onstage, Limbaugh said.

"I guess he just has a different idea of what makes a man than I do," Buttigieg told DeGeneres when she brought up the comment. "I'm not going to take lectures on family values from the likes of Rush Limbaugh or anyone who supports Donald Trump. When I was packing my bags for Afghanistan, Donald Trump was working on season 7 of Celebrity Apprentice."

"Since when is strength about the chest-pounding, loudmouth guy at the end of the bar?" the former South Bend, Ind., mayor continued. "The strongest people I know are not the loudest people. They're the ones who have the deepest sense of who they are, what they value, and what they care about. And one of those people, by the way, one of the strongest people is my husband, Brad Pitt."

"I forgot my Oscar," replied Chasten Buttigieg, who was in the audience.

Pete Buttigieg also addressed his lack of support from African-American voters. He said he would never know the pain they have felt due to racism and stressed the need to elevate their voices. "So that's the conversation I'm seeking to have with voters of color who have every reason to be skeptical of politicians, especially new figures who come along, given the number of broken promises and the ways that that vote has been taken for granted again and again and again," he said. "The only way to earn it is to go out there and work for it."

He further discussed his competitors for the Democratic nomination and said U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont is out of the mainstream, but if Buttigieg had to be stranded on an island with any other candidate, it would be Sanders, "because we would never run out of conversation." He also said former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a billionaire businessman, is trying to buy the election. Bloomberg was the target of many barbs, particularly from U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, when he made his first appearance in a Democratic debate Wednesday. Buttigieg did vow to support whoever receives the nomination.

The Democratic candidates will next be vying for votes in the Nevada caucus Saturday.