The Atlantic

Democrats Have to Decide Whether Faith Is an Asset for 2020

The religious left has gotten giddy about South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, but campaign infrastructure and policy matter more than rhetoric.
Source: Lucas Jackson / Reuters

In the two and a half months since Pete Buttigieg announced that he’s exploring a presidential bid, the 37-year-old South Bend, Indiana, mayor has embraced a fraught figure in Democratic politics: God.

“We need to not be afraid to invoke arguments … on why Christian faith is going to point you in a progressive direction,” he recently told USA Today. He also questioned Donald Trump’s religious sincerity. “I’m reluctant to comment on another person’s faith,” Buttigieg said, “but I would say it is hard to look at this president’s actions and believe that they’re the actions of somebody who believes in God.”

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