Gay Long Beach mayor’s snappy defense of Pete Buttigieg put a gay Republican in his place

Gay Republican Chadwick Moore is a journalist-turned-pundit who claimed he left the Democratic Party after getting blowback for a puff piece he wrote on then-notable gay rightwing provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos. He’s still the butt of jokes for notifying the FBI that he had been banned from Grindr.

Moore really wants to be the new conservative token gay – and he’s done a good job of becoming Fox New’s new quisling darling. But when he tried to come for out former Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg on Twitter, out Long Beach, California, mayor Robert Garcia was having none of Moore’s shenanigans.

Related: Grindr trolls gay Trump supporter who alerted the FBI they shut down his account

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Garcia, a rising star in the Democratic Party, is rumored to be a contender to replace Vice President-elect Kamala Harris in the Senate.

Moore tweeted a link to an LGBTQ Nation story, “Pete Buttigieg expected to be part of Joe Biden’s cabinet.”

“Being a homosexual does not qualify you for a Cabinet position,” Moore tweeted. “President Trump picked the best man for the job with @RichardGrenell. For Biden, the only qualification is being gay.”

Ric Grenell, the former ambassador to Germany, served as the acting Director of National Intelligence briefly. Grenell’s nomination was held up for months as Democrats objected to his complete lack of experience and history of trolling women and minorities on Twitter.

As acting Director of National Intelligence, Grenell held a cabinet-level position but was appointed by Trump, reportedly so a Senate confirmation vote could be avoided. He resigned as ambassador after a new Director was confirmed.

“Hi, fellow gay here,” Garcia tweeted back with an emoji of a waving hand.

“Actually Pete Buttigieg is a Veteran, a Rhodes Scholar, a former mayor, and build a national movement. And yes, he has great taste in home furnishings which is a plus. Take a seat, bud.”

You can guess Twitter’s reaction. No one believed that Pete was responsible for the home decor: “if we’re talking home decor, it’s definitely Chasten.”