Pete Buttigieg Didn't Mean THAT Kind of Cruising
The Claim
Pete Buttigieg announced that “cruising” should resume this summer.
News posted on
Emerging story
Pete Buttigieg, the newly minted Transportation Secretary and first openly LGBT Cabinet member in U.S. history, held a press conference on April 9th. He responded to questions about his office and plans for the transportation industry's future recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. News outlets began sharing headlines that Buttigieg expects “cruising” to begin again this summer. “Cruising” is a term commonly used in gay communities to mean searching for a sexual partner. The interestingly phrased headlines prompted a slew of jokes on Twitter.
Misbar’s Analysis
In a segment from the press conference lasting not even a full 60 seconds, Buttigieg discusses the cruise industry (referring to ocean liners) adding that commerce will resume when it is “responsibly safe.” He never specifically used the word “cruising.”
Our investigation notes that in the press conference, Buttigieg’s focus was on America’s struggling infrastructure. He remarked that the United States is now ranked 13th in the world, which is alarming due to historical successes such as the Transcontinental Railroad and the creation of the Interstate Highway System. He discussed the planned revitalization of U.S. infrastructure and how it would be “fully paid for by making corporations pay their fair share.” He explained, saying, “We think it’s unacceptable that there are major, profitable corporations paying less in taxes than a teacher or a firefighter, not in terms of a percentage, but in terms of dollars.”
Buttigieg’s ideas became overshadowed by the “cruising” headline given by media outlets—the focus shifted to who he is rather than the important issues he was discussing.
But maybe all publicity is good publicity? Pete Buttigieg’s first foray into daily briefings went well and is receiving more notice because of the tongue-in-cheek headline. Even George Takei, the actor famous for playing Sulu in the original Star Trek series who is openly gay, had to give it his signature, “Oh myyy.”
