Could the United States be on its way to getting an openly gay president?
Pete Buttigieg, a Navy veteran who’s currently serving as mayor of the town of South Bend in Indiana, is the latest Democrat to announce his candidacy for the 2020 United States presidential election.
The 37-year-old politician is the ninth person to join the battle for the Democratic Party’s nomination. If he were to win, he’d become the first openly gay presidential nominee from a major political party.
“I belong to a generation that is stepping forward right now,” he said in his campaign announcement video.
“We’re the generation that lived through school shootings, that served in the wars after 9/11, and we’re the generation that stands to be the first to make less than our parents unless we do something different.
“We can’t just polish off a system so broken. It is a season for boldness and a focus on the future.”
Pete also appeared to take aim at current US President Donald Trump and his Make America Great Again slogan, arguing that we “can’t look for greatness in the past” and should instead focus on the future.
“The show in Washington right now is exhausting. The corruption, the fighting, the lying, the crisis. It’s got to end,” he continued.
“The reality is there’s no going back, and there’s no such thing as ‘again’ in the real world. We can’t look for greatness in the past. Right now our country needs a fresh start.”
Pete lives in South Bend, Indiana with his husband Chasten Glezman and two rescue dogs.
He took over as Mayor of South Bend when he was 29 years old, and claims to have turned around what has been referred to as a “dying city” – now, he wants to do the same for the whole country.
“We are not gong to be the most well-funded, I am obviously not stepping onto this stage as the most famous person in this conversation,” he told reporters at a news conference in Washington following his announcement.
“But I belong to a party whose characteristic has always been to look for fresh voices, new leadership and big ideas, and I think that is what 2020 is going to be about.”
Watch his campaign video below.
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