U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell said Tuesday he's glad Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg seems to have pushed arguments about Vice President Mike Pence aside.
"I was actually quite pleased to see that Mayor Pete decided to stop pushing this hate hoax," told Fox News' "Fox and Friends."
"I think that is an important sign. I think that it is very big of him to admit that the attacks that he has been doing for the last several days are not working and they're not a good strategy. I was pleased to see him say he is not going to push that."
Grenell had called Buttigieg's accusations of homophobia against the vice president a "hate hoax along the lines of Jussie Smollett," but on Monday night, during a CNN Town Hall, Buttigieg, who like Grenell is openly gay, said he wasn't going to respond to the ambassador's comment.
"I'm not a master fisherman, but I know bait when I see it. I will not take it," the South Bend, Indiana mayor told the audience, to applause.
However, Grenell said he does not know if Buttigieg's comments mean he'll stop accusing Pence of being anti-gay.
"What I'm trying to do is defend my friend, Mike Pence, the vice president, who is a great man, an honorable man, a man of Christian faith and somebody that I admire," Grenell said. "I also want to just point out the fact that the vice president, Mike Pence, is fully on board with my push to decriminalize homosexuality around the world."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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