Former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg reminded viewers of Fox News about President Donald Trump's alleged relationship with pornographic actor Stormy Daniels on Wednesday ahead of the vice presidential debate. The moment quickly went viral on social media.
Buttigieg, a Democrat who is from Vice President Mike Pence's home state of Indiana, spoke to the network before the only debate between Pence and Senator Kamala Harris. Like Harris, he had previously sought the party's 2020 nomination.
Fox News' Martha McCallum asked Buttigieg about Harris' views on policy issues that differ from former Vice President Joe Biden. The senator had been more supportive of Medicare for All during the Democratic presidential primaries.
"Well, there's a classic parlor game of trying to find a little bit of daylight between running mates," Buttigieg said.
"If people want to play that game, we could look into why an evangelical Christian like Mike Pence wants to be on a ticket with a president caught with a porn star."
This is a reference to Stormy Daniels, also known as Stephanie Clifford. She alleges that she had a sexual encounter with Trump in 2006, a claim the president denies.
However, Trump has admitted to reimbursing his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, for a $130,000 payment to Daniels before the 2016 presidential election as part of a settlement. The president tweeted on May 3, 2018, that Cohen was reimbursed for entering into a non-disclosure agreement with Daniels to "stop the false and extortionist accusations made by her about an affair."
Pete Buttigieg really went on Fox News and asked "why an evangelical Christian like Mike Pence wants to be on a ticket with a president caught with a porn star." pic.twitter.com/PQnodtivC8
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 8, 2020
Buttigieg went on to ask how Pence "feels about the immigration policy he called unconstitutional before he decided to team up with Donald Trump. If folks want to play that game, we could do it all night."
"Calls to ban Muslims from entering the U.S. are offensive and unconstitutional," Pence tweeted on December 8, 2015. At that time, Trump was campaigning for the Republican presidential nomination but had not yet become the candidate.
On December 7, 2015, Trump called for "a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country's representatives can figure out what is going on."
Trump officially named Pence his running mate on July 15, 2016. Pence said he was "honored" to be added to the ticket.
"I think what most Americans want to hear about is: Are our families going to be better protected than they have been by [Trump] who's failed to secure America in the face of one of the most dangerous things ever to happen to our country," Buttigieg told Fox News, referring to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Correction 10/09 3.45 a.m. ET: This article has been updated to correct the date Pence was named Trump's running mate.
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About the writer
Darragh Roche is a U.S. News Reporter based in Limerick, Ireland. His focus is reporting on U.S. politics. He has ... Read more
