New Republic Pulls “Inappropriate and Invasive” Op-Ed About Pete Buttigieg

Anita Bennett

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The New Republic has retracted a homophobic op-ed about Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg.

The piece title “My Mayor Pete Problem” was written by openly gay literary critic Dale Peck, and drew condemnation immediately after it was published on the magazine’s website Friday.

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In his op-ed, Peck described the South Bend, Indiana mayor as “the gay equivalent of Uncle Tom,” and referred to him as “Mary Pete.”

According to NBC News, the piece speculated about intimate details of Buttigieg’s personal life. It also claimed that because the presidential hopeful waited until he was in his 30s to come out as gay, he would be too preoccupied with sex and drugs to effectively lead the nation.

The left-leaning publication has since pulled the article and replaced it with an editor’s note.

“Dale Peck’s post ‘My Mayor Pete Problem’ has been removed from the site, in response to criticism of the piece’s inappropriate and invasive content. We regret its publication,” the note said.

New Republic editor in chief, Win McCormack, also apologized to Buttigieg Saturday saying the piece should not have been published.

“Yesterday we made a mistake, but we remain committed to honoring the tradition of high standards and journalistic integrity that have been the hallmark of The New Republic for more than 100 years,” McCormack said in a statement on Twitter. “As The New Republic’s owner, I want to extend our sincerest apologies to Mayor Buttigieg, as well as to our readers.”

He went on to call the article “inappropriate and offensive.”

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