Second lady Karen Pence responded Tuesday night to Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg’s unprovoked attacks on her husband, Vice President Mike Pence.
Buttigieg has done his best to turn Mike Pence into the boogeyman of conservative Christianity, frequently calling into question the vice president’s personal belief that marriage is a union between one man and one woman — a mainstream conviction rooted in his understanding of Scripture.
During an interview with Fox News Radio host Brian Kilmeade, Karen Pence said people “shouldn’t be attacked” over their religious beliefs.
“I think, in our country, we need to understand you shouldn’t be attacked for what your religious beliefs are and I think kids need to learn that, at a young age, that this is OK, what faith people have,” she said. “We don’t attack them for their faith.”
Kilmeade played a portion of a recent speech by Buttigieg, the current mayor of South Bend, Indiana, during which he said:
“That’s the thing I wish the Mike Pences of the world would understand. If you’ve got a problem with who I am, then your problem is not with me. Your quarrel, sir, is with my creator.”
In response, Karen Pence described Buttigieg’s words as “kind of funny” because she doesn’t believe her husband has any issue with the 37-year-old Democrat.
“I think it’s helping Pete to get some notoriety by saying that about the vice president,” she said.
The vice president’s daughter, Charlotte, also chimed in, telling Kilmeade religious liberty in the U.S. protects an individual’s right to believe in any religion or no religion at all.
“You can believe whatever you want,” she said, “and you shouldn’t be afraid of being persecuted for that. And you shouldn’t be afraid to speak about that.”