Pete Buttigieg reveals his secret to becoming the MAGA bro whisperer
In a new interview, Mayor Pete says he thrives in the "manosphere" by just being himself.
Mark
As Democrats consternate over how to reach young men, Pete Buttigieg (a.k.a. The MAGA bro whisperer) has breached the elusive “manosphere” and earned a series of attaboys, including coveted “Lib of the Year” honors from Barstool Sports.
In an interview with GQ about American men and masculinity, the first out gay Cabinet official in history explains how he connects with guys who are more into MMA than, say, feminist literature or matcha lattes.
His strategy comes down to one guiding force: be real.
“I actually think it’s important not to overthink it too much,” he says. “In those contexts, I interact the way I would with anybody. Say what you believe, be straightforward, be strong on what you believe, but don’t be a d*ck about it.”
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That approach has served Buttigieg well throughout his career, dating back to when he was elected mayor of South Bend, Indiana at age-29. The political wunderkind publicly came out before his re-election campaign, despite living in a deep red state.
Though South Bend is a college town (the city is home of Notre Dame), Buttigieg encountered conservatives every day. During his appearance on Andrew Schultz’s “Flagrant”–one of the leading “manosphere” podcasts–he recounted one specific interaction with an acquittance shortly after he had met his husband, Chasten.
Seemingly uncomfortable with same-sex partnerships, the woman referred to Chasten as Pete’s “friend.” Rather than scold, he kept it moving.
“It was one of those moments,” he recalled. “One very important thing to recognize is, she was signaling something that’s pretty big for her.”
Since November’s election, Buttigieg has spoken out against the rigidity of certain Democratic groups. Polls show swaths of Americans, and especially young men, are turned off by the party’s social purity and language policing. A startling 56% of young men pulled the lever for the pugilistic president.
But that doesn’t mean they’re unmovable. Just nine months into Tr*mp’s reign of terror, 53% of young men disapprove of his performance.
Buttigieg believes the key to winning them back is loosening up. “A culture did develop on the left that was increasingly scolding and finger-wagging, and it’s easy to miss how big of a shift that is,” he said.
Schultz himself referenced the “hall monitor” vibe around Dems in viral remarks about how they lost their cool factor.
For what it’s worth, Schultz his crew did not feel that way after chatting with Buttigieg. “We’re turning into such libs!,” one of them declared after the former Transportation Secretary explained how government-funded research spurred the development of the internet.
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It’s notable that Buttigieg, the most famous gay politician in the country, is able to connect with right-leaning comics and dudes. Part of that may be his straight-laced presentation. As a married father with two kids, Buttigieg personifies the very family values that conservatives profess to adhere.
While Buttigieg’s embrace of heteronormativity has earned him queer critics, he shows there are many ways to be gay. And none of them are scary.
At a time when party operatives are encouraging Democrats to not say “LGBTQ+,” Buttigieg is just himself.
“I think sometimes going to these perceived high-stakes media scenarios, people lose some of the intuitions that serve us well just going about everyday life, because you feel like you got to be super performative,” he says. “You just come in, you be yourself, and you see how it goes.”
With Buttigieg continuing to top way-too-early 2028 polls, his candid approach seems to be working just fine.
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